Soul Mirror
by 20FacesChizu
Summary: Itachi wants Sakura to heal his eyes, which have been damaged by the Sharingan... And she's quite willing for the price he'll pay. But with her loyalties torn, how can she cope? She is bonded now and always, body and blood, to Akatsuki...
1. A Treasure

_**Disclaimer:** I own this fic. And believe me, when I first got into the Naruto fandom, I never dreamed I would one day like this coupling. Blame it on the fanart._

_**Note:** I must warn you that this will be slightly AU; no alternate universe, per se, but it will alternate between anime and manga realities, as I know more about the anime than the manga, yet this will be placed in the future beyond the battle with Sasori, etc. Hope you enjoy, but please be careful if you don't want spoilers!_

**_Soul-Mirror_**

_Kyuubi Tenshi_

**Chapter 1- A Treasure**

A dim light fell on her eyes, soft, like it were of fire. She couldn't remember a fire… only snow. A blizzard surrounding her as she tried so desperately to get away from pursuing enemy shinobi from Bloodmist. She was positive that she'd collapsed; how was it there was something so warm and soft wrapped around her? She opened emerald orbs to gaze at her surroundings.

A small room, cozy, with a gentle blaze crackling in the stone fireplace- lavishly furnished, it was, and the rugs looked thick and intricately designed. The quilt that covered her was handmade and of the finest quality, the woods all about the place obviously mahogany, their dark hue nearly black in the warm lighting. She sat upright slowly, and suddenly realized, with a bit of embarrassment, that she'd been changed from her usual garb into that of a man's, though it were in true shinobi style. The embarrassment faded, though, and she was again curious about her surroundings. Attempting to stand, she found that her ankle was twisted, and fell, but rather than meeting the rough thickness of the rug, she encountered something firm, covered in a soft cloth that was soothing to her chapped skin. She grunted at the impact, nonetheless, and when she regained her senses, gathered the courage to look up into her savior's face.

Uchiha Itachi.

She knew him well enough, from her fight with a clone of his, and from the files she had tirelessly gone over once she returned to the Fire Country. She knew all his past that the Hokage could've known.

Mass murderer.

S-class criminal.

User of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

The demon behind Sasuke's every waking nightmare.

And he was sitting here, looking at her oh-so-calmly with blank, black eyes, holding her as though she were something breakable that he wished to remain whole. He didn't move, and she didn't dare try. In a way, she was mesmerized.

"You are Haruno Sakura of Konohagakure, Tsunade-hime's apprentice, are you not?"

She started. Thrown well enough out of her fear, she drew away from him, standing up and toppling back onto the bed, scooting until she was pressed tightly to the wall.

No place left to run, and no means to do so, even if there were. He stood, onyx orbs roving over her body in slow scrutiny.

"Answer me, kunoichi. _Are you or are you not the Jounin Haruno Sakura, Tsunade's apprentice?_"

Her throat like cotton, all she could do was nod. Jounin though she was, she wasn't ANBU trained; even then, only Tsunade could have even a fighting chance. He seemed satisfied enough with the answer, and came to perch at the end of the full-size bed, his right hand reaching out towards her injured ankle. Instinctively, she pulled away, but he caught her leg by the calf and drug it back to him anyways. It amazed her, though; there was nothing that she could sense that was dangerous or held killing intent in him. He was completely docile at the moment. And what surprised her even more was the sweet way his fingers probed her ankle gently with healing chakra, taking away the swelling and healing the damage done to the muscle. It was ticklish, almost, how light his fingers trailed over her skin, but she could still say nothing, fear having managed to seemingly destroy her ability to communicate.

"Are you mute, kunoichi? I suspect you have questions, and I lack the time for you to pull yourself together."

She startled again. Shaking her head gently, Sakura attempted to snap out of her stupor. Questions? Probably more than he would answer. Unable to voice, though, the most pressing ones, the most obvious found her vocals first.

"Did you save me?"

It seemed that, for the briefest of moments, amusement glittered in his eyes. He turned to her from where he'd gone to stand in front of the fireplace. His face blank, he answered, "Yes. Though why you were running from such pathetic shinobi, I haven't the slightest. You say you are Tsunade-hime's apprentice, and yet you exhibited none of her bestial strength."

She resisted the urge to scowl at his degrading remark. "My mission required stealth, not brute force."

"And yet you lacked both."

It was a rather pointed comment, and the beryl-eyed kunoichi could do nothing but bristle. Insulting her skills as though she were a common genin, he was; she was trained by the Godaime! She snorted indignantly. "Not my fault Shizune's assistant handed me the wrong blueprints."

If a moment before the kunoichi had been timid, there was no indication of it now. The oh-so-infamous S-class criminal seemed a perfect gentleman, and courteous, though insensitive when he wished. She folded her arms across her chest in annoyance, turning away from him with a disgusted look on her face. Though, had she been looking at him, she would've noticed how, once again, a sparkle of amusement presented itself in his onyx orbs, however veiled it was.

"But, that aside, why is it that you saved me at all? Obviously you seem to hold no animosity towards me, though to be labeled as anything other than your enemy would be unthinkable…" she trailed off, unable to continue her train of thought at the sweet, yet slightly pitying look he gave her. She blinked. "You… _do _consider me your enemy, don't you? I couldn't _possibly_ be anything else to y-!"

"I consider you a treasure."

She couldn't help but gape a bit, and her eyes widened in surprise as he came to stand in front of her, his movements lithe and silent. He leaned forward, hands coming to rest on either side of her in the softness of the quilt, face mere inches from her own. Once again, her throat felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. But as his eyes stared into hers, she could see something unexpected.

"You're… going blind?" A smile seemed to quirk the corners of his eyes. She sat silently before him, dumbfounded. But when she thought about it, Kakashi-sensei _had_ asked him how bad his eyes had gotten from constant use of the Sharingan, but she had dismissed it at the time. Yet here and now, the infamous murderer leaned in close to her, and she could clearly see his eyes wavering in and out of focus, and a slight fog covering their surface. She couldn't help herself; tentative fingers reached up and set themselves at the corners, and she sought inside his cells with her chakra, curiosity reigning over her for the time being.

Itachi watched as her emerald orbs went out of focus, her chakra coursing through his eyes, making his sight a bit sharper for those few moments. It was soothing… that feeling of her chakra; it felt like a gentle, cool liquid, and he enjoyed it until…

He jerked back in pain, and Sakura faltered, her fingers trembling violently in mid-air at what she'd felt behind those ebony depths. He looked at her, menace and displeasure apparent in his features, but since there had been no intention to give him pain on her part, all she could do was stare at him, a broken look on her face.

"You belong to Akatsuki now. I suggest you be more careful in the future."

The look disappeared within that split second. Surprise first found her, then sadness, and then extreme outrage. The kunoichi clenched a tight fist.

"Belong to Akatsuki? What makes you think that I'd agree to that?" she asked, her voice a threatening growl as she stared at him with mistrusting eyes. His emotionless façade was back, but he looked down at her with equal mistrust. "I would never defect from Konoha!"

"You haven't a choice," he stated, turning to go. But as he turned to shut the door behind him, his sightless eyes looked back up at her again, and for a moment, she was sure that sadness and uncertainty tainted them. And with stunning final words, he left her to her thoughts.

"But if it means you'll come peacefully, I will offer you anything you wish, if it is within my grasp to give you."

* * *

**AN: Okay, I have a friend who's been begging me to post this for an age, so here it is. The first chapter of Soul-Mirror. Please enjoy, review, and rant. Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated; also, don't blow this story off as an over-used story line already; I have a few twists of my own to play with. I'm not considered insane for nothing. XP ENJOY!**


	2. The Covenant

**Chapter 2- The Covenant**

Pale sunlight peeped around the edge of the curtains, cold and distant, though it touched her, beckoning her to wake. Eyes opened upon the darkened room, foggy beryl glinting over shadows, searching for a dream-state figure. The room was the same… had it _not _been a dream the night before? She sat up, a sleepy hand gripping a corner of the down pillow, fingers tugging at unruly strands of vibrant hair. It couldn't be that it hadn't been just a dream the night before… could it?

But even as she stood, the kunoichi took notice of clothes lain out for her on the dresser. An Akatsuki cloak that hung next to the door; was it waiting for her to don it, and become the partner of the shadow-dark shinobi she remembered from the dream-night? She shivered at the thought of the look he'd given her.

_I will offer you anything you wish, if it is within my grasp to give you…_

The words echoed in her mind.

It had been a dream. Surely, just a dream.

She shed the over-sized male clothes, moving towards the bathroom. She had every intention of taking a steaming shower and washing her hair. She scrubbed herself leisurely, taking a little more time that usual to wash away the dirt, grime, blood and snow-residue from her hair.

Stepping out, though, she found the clothes, this time, waiting for her on the counter. _Strange… I was sure I left them on the dresser, where I found them…_

The kunoichi shrugged it off and dressed anyway, deeming not to think about it; but as she stepped out of the steam-filled washroom, she staggered back from shock of seeing the nightmare figure from the previous evening. She stared at him in bewilderment, but he was unfazed; really, because he couldn't clearly see the look she was giving him from where he'd lain down to await her on the bed. He had watched her stagger back, obviously from surprise, but the pure disbelief on her face was hidden from his failing eyes.

"You certainly took long enough, kunoichi." She twitched.

"Sakura." He blinked, looking back at her.

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Sakura. Use it. Next time you call me kunoichi, I will either disobey you or ignore you, so please, remember- my name is Sakura," she bit out, walking over to her pack next to the door. She wasn't stupid enough to make use of the arsenal she had there, even if she _was_ itching to take advantage of her captor's blinding eyes. Rather, though, the beryl-eyed Jounin took out her hairbrush and ran it through the half-dry strands of valentine-colored hair, pulling it back into a short ponytail with a ribbon. _Why am I not fighting…? For some unknown reason, I'm perfectly obedient to him, even though he's Akatsuki, and forcing me to betray my village! What on earth is going on?_ "Mendokuse…"

"What is?" she heard he captor question jadedly from his place on her bed. She twitched in irritation as she tossed her brush back in her pack and withdrew a small tub of pale-green salve. She didn't answer, but as he turned to ask her again, he noticed her perch next to him. Unscrewing the lid on the small, clear container, she dipped in a forefinger. He looked at it suspiciously.

"Close your eyes and let me do my job."

He obeyed, and relaxed a little; well, as much as he ever did, which wasn't much at all. He felt the clammy substance being rubbed into his temples, a bit of warm chakra mixed in, creating a blissful sensation, the likes of which he hadn't felt for a long time. He wondered, however briefly, why she has healing him without asking anything in return, unawares that Sakura was asking herself the exact same thing. Well, more accurately, she was cursing herself inside for it. She paused for a brief moment; just beyond her reaching chakra was the most painful spot for him.

"Itachi."

"Hmm?"

"This'll hurt, but it's what'll repair your eyes."

He nodded his head just the barest fraction of an inch, and she went ahead, stretching her chakra along the system of chakra paths behind his eyes. He flinched violently as she reached the worst of the damage, and she tried her best to be gentle, though she wondered if she was failing miserably as his hands began to tremble, threatening to clench in pain. After a minute, she withdrew, and rubbed a bit more of the foreign green substance against his temples, forcing in a little more of the warming chakra than before, easing his pain a little faster.

"Gomen ne, Itachi-san. I told you it would be painful."

She turned away quietly, returning the salve to her pack. Again, she was cursing herself; _Itachi**-san**? Where on earth did **that** come from?_ She frowned, organizing her jostled belongings before standing and turning again to him. He still resided on her bed, and she realized with a bit of shock that his muscles seemed more relaxed than they had been only minutes previous when she first went to his side. Had she used too much chakra? It was known to put people in a trance-like sleep for hours if too big a dose was given. She moved closer to him cautiously, daring to hope just a little that she had- even if it truly was accidental- overdosed him. But, of course, the hope was in vain. His eyes were open just a bit, and though his breathing was slow and deep, he was obviously alert.

Itachi, on the other hand, felt better than he had in ages; his eyes trailed across the beams on the ceiling, and his vision was perfect. It was strange though; the kunoichi had walked away from him, but had returned, and propped herself on the bed next to him, and was looking down as though concerned. He hadn't noticed how brilliantly colored her eyes were before. The nin smirked at her. "Are you finished, kunoichi?"

"…" Of course. She had said she would ignore him if he called her "kunoichi" again. He sighed, and a wry smile crossed her features.

"Sakura, are you finished?"

"No, I'm not."

He blinked a bit. What more could she have to do? His eyes felt like they were in the condition before he had ever even inherited the Sharingan bloodline! It was impossible for him to hide his curiosity, even if what showed through was only a very little. She sighed, scooting a little further back on the bed, and he moved over to make room for her. She seemed to contemplate something for a moment, before answering his unasked questions.

"Your Sharingan… it would be safe enough if you only used it during battle. But as a precautionary measure, you keep it activated constantly, correct?"

A nod.

"That's what's ruined your sight. It seems as though the Sharingan utilizes another body chemical with the chakra, and the element created… is… somehow, incredibly acidic. The nerves and chakra paths behind your eyes nearly have holes in them from this substance. As long as you continue to use your Sharingan, you'll need someone to heal you." She sighed, hanging her head, hands gripping the edge of the bed a bit. A wry grin seemed permanently plastered on her pale lips, and her eyes seemed almost angry with admitting what she was. "Which means that, as much as you will probably hate it, I'm the only chance your eyes have."

Silence. Suppressive. For a while, Sakura wondered what his reaction was. He said nothing, expressed nothing, did nothing. And she refused to look at him, for fear of what she might find. But though the man beside her was silent, he was not angry with her.

His thoughts were slow to process what she told him. He knew, from the beginning, that he would need someone to rival the medical sannin, Tsunade, and when he discovered that she had a young apprentice, his fears had ceased to be. Now, he knew that the situation was not a simple fix- he couldn't have a one-time procedure done that would heal his eyes forever. The damage was done, and as long as he intended to utilize his kekkei genkai, he would need her there to repair the damage he would do. For the first time in a long time, Uchiha Itachi felt just a little bit frightened. Not of losing his sight- of need and vulnerability. His eyes were hers to heal or destroy; if she wished, she could make sure that he never saw anything again.

That dependence frightened him.

"Truthful, aren't you, Sakura?" Again, he earned a wry smile. She shook her head, standing.

"I'm a medical nin. I am trained to take care of those who need it. Even though you betrayed my village and my most important person, I will not lie to you about your condition or the treatment thereof."

She silently snapped the top closed on her bag, her fingers holding the edge, trembling a bit still. Her mind was a blank slate. Her morals had more than definitely put the lock on her proverbial cage.

"It stands, you know."

Shockingly, she knew exactly what he meant by those few simple words. What could she ask for that would make betraying her village worth it all? Her freedom was pointless; this was a gift that was to chain her to him body and soul for the rest of their living days. To halt his retrieval on the Kyuubi sealed within Naruto? Beyond his reach; he was not the only member of Akatsuki, and they all sought the bijyuu sealed within her comrade. Surely there was something to benefit her village in all of this…?

She blinked in surprise.

"Itachi, you said you would give me anything if it was within your ability to give, did you not?" she asked, turning to look at him again. He sat up, eyes portraying a bit of curiosity. She had found something to ask of him, and was obviously unsure of his ability to attain it. A hesitant nod, and her eyes steeled. She returned to him, and knelt before his darkly-clad figure, looking up into shadow-black eyes. "I vow this covenant to you, then.

"I will stay by your side until my days are done, or yours, if you should die before me, and I will heal your eyes to the very extent of my powers and learning. I will treat your wounds, and those of your comrades. I will not attempt any escape, and I will fight beside and protect you and your comrades. But, in return, you must grant me this."

Beryl flashed like fire against onyx, and he was left stunned by her demand.

"Rescue my former teammate, your younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, from the dominion of Orochimaru. Remove the seal placed upon his neck, and change his memories; you will have it appear that Orochimaru is the one who destroyed the Uchiha clan."

* * *

**AN: Whee! Teehee. I'm so happy my copyright issues were resolved so I could start posting this again! I really do love this story to pieces. Anywho, please review and tell me what you think!**

**SPECIAL NOTE: To those of you who like crack Sakura pairings in general, or who fancy Deidara, I will be posting a DeiSaku fic in the future entitled "Clay Penance"; please keep an eye out for it!**


	3. Summons of Fire

**Chapter 3- Summons of Fire**

The steady _tack tack tack_ of their shoes against tree bark was slowly driving her insane. The birds were quiet in the trees, and the bare whisper of wind against leaf was serving no purpose but to put her more on edge than ever before. The cloak of the Akatsuki was, surprisingly, very warm, and protected her well from the snow flurries that still twisted about their quickly moving bodies.

She was still in shock, though. He'd agreed.

Rather, he gave her a look that plainly said _That's ALL?_ It was as though he had expected her to ask the impossible. Though, the look had completely disappeared when she told him how _exactly_ she wanted him to modify the younger Uchiha's memories.

"_You are to make it seem as though he remembers Orochimaru destroying the clan. In the end, you left Konoha in search of power, that you might kill Orochimaru as the avenger. I want him to stay in Konoha, Itachi. I may not be there, but you said you would give me anything. I will use that, but only to give Konoha what little I can by way of apology for what I'm consenting to."_

He'd been silent and emotionless ever since. He had not even told her which direction they were heading, whether it be to rescue Sasuke and fulfill his promise, or to whatever kind of headquarters there was, or whatever home he had. Surely even a missing-nin had a place to rest his head when not off killing someone? Sakura scrunched her neck deeper into the black cloak, rubbing her nose against the collar in an attempt to warm her face a bit against the bitter cold. Her eyes, strained by the dull light and tired of the cold, sought out her new… what was the word? Patient? Partner? Comrade? No, wait… comrade was going too far. She supposed that either patient or partner would do; but the term they would use would probably depend on him.

The silence was _not_ lifting. Not in the least. But just as she was about to start pestering the heck out of a certain Uchiha, they leapt over a horizon and found themselves at a village. Except, it was a very _deserted _village. All thought of speech fled her.

"We'll rest here for a while."

His smooth voice was nearly lost in the snow, as soft as it was. She followed behind him, just barely an arm's length away. She didn't like the silence. It felt foreboding. Killing intent had been so strong in this village, that it had almost left a sensible residue on the air. She flinched violently, hand snapping to the weapons' case at her side as a crow gave a disparaging cry, winging out of a tree towards the village outskirts. Itachi nearly chuckled at her reaction to the place. To think of her reaction if she knew that it was he who had lain this place desolate… it was an amusing picture.

"Itachi, where are we heading next?" she questioned, slipping her hastily-drawn kunai back in its place, tugging a bit at her gloves in nervous habit. He continued walking, his steps taking him towards the largest of the deserted homes.

"You must first finalize our agreement; then we will take care of my end."

She couldn't even begin to guess what he meant, but she followed him anyway; he wouldn't let her be hurt, of that she was sure. She wouldn't trust _him _and far as she could throw him, but she knew that if they found danger, he wouldn't let her come to harm. For a little while, at least, he considered her valuable.

Inside the mansion, the halls were dusty, and the wood rotten. Unconsciously, a hand twitched at her weapons case, waiting for something to dare her strike. But nothing came; the house was simply old and abandoned, and in general disrepair. Somewhere the floor creaked, and the nervous kunoichi flinched, but she refrained from needlessly putting holes in the walls. It seemed that after this small period of time, her mind was finally registering that these less-than-comfortable situations were deemed to become the norm of her life. Unease was going to become a familiar friend, it seemed.

"Itachi, what _is _this place?" He paused before a nicer room, one that seemed to have actually received a bit of care since the place had been cleared of its residents. He stood, a hand against the doorframe, and glanced back at her from over his shoulder.

"The first place that encountered me as a missing-nin."

She asked no more questions.

The room's furnishings were scant, but they were well-kept; for the most part, the floor was swept, and the furniture dusted. It seemed as though he might have stopped there often; in the corner there was a futon, and on the opposite wall was a few minor supplies- a first aid kit, some extra food, and trivial weaponry. He tossed his hat aside, and collapsed onto the bedding, the back of a hand covering his eyes. The effect of her treatment had worn off. A limp hand beckoned her to his side, and she obliged him. Again, she treated him, and this time he did not withhold a dire hiss of pain from beneath her ministrations. Again, she tried her best to rid him of the throbbing. When done, she turned back to her bag and removed a pot from it, pouring water from her canteen into it. There was wood next to a fireplace at the far side of the room; within minutes, there was a small blaze going, and over this she heated the water, dipping a cloth into it, and ringing it out. She folded it gingerly over his eyes, and he seemed to relax just a little more.

_I can't even begin to imagine what kind of pain he must be in. I may be able to do something more than these temporary fixes though; perhaps if I study that strange acid, I'll be able to do something about it. It sure as heck must feel like fire every time he uses it with how much damage he's done. Maybe… there's a way to… modify the Sharingan itself, so that it no longer creates that specific substance. Maybe there's a way to purify it!_ Her mind took flight on this track of thought. It fascinated her; could she really find some way to purify this kekkei genkai? Surely there was a way to counteract the effects!

Itachi wondered what she was thinking about; her fingers still trembled against his cheek, and she had been silent for several minutes. For someone who was so zealous for her village, she seemed so gentle and sympathetic. It made it seem like she no longer cared for the place she called home. He laughed a little inside.

"Sakura, why does it seem that you have become so sympathetic to my cause? You're being so gentle, it makes one wonder as to your loyalties."

She snapped away from her thoughts, and steeled herself as best she could.

"I love the people of my village, but my sympathies can no longer lie with them; they must lie with you and the Akatsuki. That was my oath; I will not break it."

He did not respond. His thoughts mulled her over; she was different from most. She could've tried numerous times to run, or to kill him, but since the moment she had made the oath, she had kept strictly to her word. It was that important to her? A shinobi is a born liar, and yet at this very moment, she kept an oath that destroyed her everything.

Sakura knew he wondered at that; she was keeping her word to a criminal, though she was shinobi and her word was as fragile as glass. But the kunoichi could have cared less; though her profession dictated her a liar, she was not when she did not have to be. She kept her word. A solemn oath all the more. She was going to save Sasuke from himself, and Itachi was going to help whether he liked it or not. She stood, sauntering over to the few supplies on the other side of the room, digging a few mix and match herbs and vegetables out of the stock and her own bag, tossing them into the already-boiling water over the fire. It had been a day or two, maybe, since her last chance at a meager snack, and she wasn't sure, but Itachi looked unhealthily thin to her medic eyes.

Not that she was going to ask him.

After a while, the shinobi sat up, a hand propped beneath him, his eyes trailing down the back of the over-sized coat that clung to her small frame. It was easily draped about her shoulders, the fire keeping her front half warm as she worked next to it's blaze. She looked so small… and decidedly fragile… In that moment, his mind could hardly wrap itself around the thought that she was the Godaime's apprentice, and a most favored pupil. One with talent to rival her first apprentice, Shizune, and one who's accuracy with poisons was even more acute than that of her teacher's.

But she looked like something was haunting her… Just barely, he could see it in the corners of her eyes. They focused on their work, doubtlessly performing simple tasks, but in the corners, and hidden well, there was something… fear? Sorrow? Pain? He couldn't tell; it was something familiar so intermixed with something unfamiliar, that it made the whole completely unrecognizable.

Then for a split second it disappeared, and a moment later, he noticed she had burned herself on the fire. It surprised him, but it was something he found annoying. _She burned herself? Is she that clumsy?_

But this was something that, for only a short while longer, he would not understand.

* * *

The sun had set an hour or so before, but afterwards, if anything, they had picked up the pace. At this moment, though, they walked silently through a grove of great beech trees, and for a moment, she was sure she felt a genjutsu in the place. Sakura unconsciously stopped, her senses focused on her surroundings, searching for a sign of anything unnatural.

Itachi, too, had stopped, and turned to look at his… companion. She was slowly scrutinizing the surrounding area, her eyes searching everything. It amused him that she could sense a genjutsu he, himself, had developed for the purpose of going undetected. It seemed illusion was her strong suit. She looked to him, wary, and his lips unconsciously quirked into a tiny smirk.

"I cast this illusion."

Realization seemed to dawn on her beryl eyes, and then she nodded in understanding, jogging a bit to catch up to him as he resumed his pace.

"An idea I've been thinking over… are you, perchance, taking me to some form of a headquarters for the Akatsuki?" he heard her ask blankly. She knew. "You said to 'finalize our agreement.' I agreed to become a part of the Akatsuki. It's logical that you would take me to a place at which the other members would be found."

He merely nodded slightly as his response, and she took it easily enough. That, too, amused him about this kunoichi. She seemed quite volatile, and yet she was also a voice of reason. Even Kisame often lectured him about his lack of speech and explanation for anything, but she simply took it with a grain of salt, as though it were something she expected from him. A few moments later, they arrived at a small clearing, and when he dispelled the illusion, a sprawling estate, like one of the upscale kendo schools, appeared before them. Sakura cocked an eyebrow in interest.

_They definitely have good taste, don't they…?_

**_They're rich! Shannaro!_**

_Not that it matters, you understand. I'm their doctor. Their nursemaid. They'll probably toss me in some bare, leaky cell when I'm not making myself useful. These are hardened criminals after all._

**_But Itachi-chan likes you!_**

_Whoa! Itachi**-chan**? Have you lost your mind?_

_**If I have, that means you have too.**_

That was one statement Sakura could not refute. She was working with _the_ mass-murderer and S-class criminal Uchiha Itachi of her _own free will_.

_No, scratch that. I'm doing it so he'll free Sasuke-kun and I won't die trying to escape or fight back._

**_Not that the idea of learning how to purify the Sharingan has anything to do with it, mind you…_** put in Inner Sakura sarcastically. **_And the fact that he's a total hottie with one drop dead sexy body…_**

_Shut up! It might be true about learning about the Sharingan, but that last part has absolutely NOTHING to do with it!_ Inner Sakura shook her head.

**_Foolish. I'm your inner self. You can't fool me. I'm you. The real you that you suppress all the time, remember?_**

Itachi cast a careless glance at the girl beside him, and noticed the conflicting emotions in her eyes, as well as the blush that was slowly spreading across her face. He would never understand the inner workings of a woman's mind; hadn't understood them at Konoha, hadn't understood them _after_ Konoha, and still couldn't understand them now. But he led her towards the gate silently, opening it and waiting for her to go through first.

Ah, so _that's_ what it was. She blushed even harder when he did that. That was one aspect of a female that he had _not _missed. They usually found him attractive.

_Strange woman… claims greatness and falls to more things than a common ten year old._

She'd near-botched a mission, run from weakling ninja, submitted to his authority without a fight, spooked easily in the old mansion, and burned herself cooking; half the ordinary preteens he knew wouldn't have fallen to three quarters of those little pitfalls. _She'd better redeem herself soon or I might as well kill her and be done with it._

Once he had closed the gate behind her, she followed him through the compound towards the main building. At least, until-

"Itachi-san! Who's the-?"

Unfortunately, the one who'd snuck up behind Sakura now found himself planted six-feet under. Not dead; she'd merely overreacted when he'd so suddenly appeared, and now found himself planted in a hole the same shape as his person. Itachi glanced over the edge of the new pit in the Akatsuki's front yard in slight amusement.

"Deidara, Haruno Sakura. Sakura, Deidara. Where's Kisame?"

Sakura planted her feet on either side of the torso portion of the hole and leaned over, inspecting her poor victim with more pity and curiosity than medical analysis. He had attempted to respond, but it was much too muffled to make out. So at last, she shrugged and grabbed the back of his cloak, hauling him out and tossing him none-too-gently on to the earth's actual surface. Since his head had happened to be the point of impact, she placed a hand at the base of his neck, emitting a chakra-style painkiller before searching the contours of his scalp for any real damage, followed by the rest of his body. Other than a couple of scratches, some bruises and a large bump, he was absolutely fine by medical standards. He rolled over gradually to look up into her sympathetic face, a pitiable, innocent, hurt look adorning his features deceptively. It was so adorable, in fact, that the med nin forgot all her worries and simply _laughed_. Itachi's eyes, however, soon caught the other member's attention, reminding him of the question he'd asked.

"Hai, hai. Kisame is training in his usual place." The man nodded and turned to go, but found his sleeve being tugged on. He turned to look at the kunoichi he'd "brought home."

"Am I supposed to go with you, or are you leaving me to my own devices?" The mischievous glint in her eyes told him that might be a dangerous decision. His eyes held hers for a minute, seeming to think over his options, before he turned to the one formerly introduced as 'Deidara.'

"Watch her. Hurt her, and I will kill you."

And with that, he disappeared. A stunned Sakura turned back to look at her new companion, who was looking her over in an appreciative manner. The mere look in his eye, the way he regarded her, ticked her off.

"And before we even go through the process of you being confused about my relationship with Itachi, I'm his and the Akatsuki's new doctor, nothing more," she huffed, crossing her arms and turning away from him. He made a sarcastic noise of awe.

"Really, 'Kura-chan? You don't look it!"

"I gave you that painkiller, didn't I? Don't make me flush it out of your system; that knot I gave you would still hurt ninety to nothing," she spat. He pretended to draw back in fear.

"Oooh, I'm _so scared_!" he mimicked playfully. But Sakura wasn't in the mood for mind games at the moment. She pretended to study a non-existent manicure, making sure he was watching her before she looked up and caught his eye, a dangerous glint shining back at him before he discovered himself at the very bottom of a brand-new crater, courtesy of one Haruno Sakura's fist.

"You have a right to be."

* * *

Of course, she'd gotten into quite a bit of trouble for her stunt. Itachi had been none-too-happy about what she'd done, and the glare she got from him was twice to three times it's usual intensity. At this moment, she sat as calmly as she could before a roomful of Akatsuki members, the shadows beyond the fire pit in the room's center hiding their leader on the far side.

"Sakura, is it?"

She nodded. The voice was strange… it was masculine, she thought, but there was an unusual lilt to the accent that intrigued her.

"From what Itachi tells me, you come to make a pact with our organization. How so?"

She took a breath, and stood, stepping forward the perch on the outside rim of the blazing pit.

"My promise, my pact with Itachi, will be fulfilled at any cost, even that of my life, if such is necessary. I will not go back on my word. I stated to him clearly that I would stay by his side until my days were done, or his, if he should die before me, and that I would heal his eyes to the very extent of my powers and learning. I will treat his wounds, and those of his comrades. I will not attempt any escape, and I will fight beside and protect him and his comrades. This was the promise I made."

The room was silent, but she could feel agitated glances passing from one member to another in the shadows still left in the room's vastness. Yet her eyes remained solely upon their silent, contemplating leader. At long last, though, he spoke to her slowly.

"You have proven your strength, kunoichi, but show me a talent that I, myself may witness."

Her eyes flashed in the fire, and slowly, she removed the cloak that hung about her shoulders. She tossed it aside, and soon followed by removing her shoes, her hitai-ate, her gloves, and the weapons and medical cases attached to her hip and thigh. Her eyes met the shadows again, and then, she surprised them.

By stepping into the fire.

Her arms raised back gracefully, hair dyed red with flame, seeming to come to life and dance around her face. It were as if the pyre itself lifted her out of the ashes beneath it, for she rose from the ground, and suddenly the flames were billowing into a great mass, forming into the shape of a great passion flower that had so suddenly burst open. It swirled around her body, and she danced with it, languid, beautiful, delicate and strong. And soon, a song, like that of a haunting lullaby burst for from her lips, speaking of when the stars were young, and how their fallen brethren took on human form and became the beginnings of the great shinobi nations. The melody was haunting and low, yet sometimes high and soft, dramatic and captivating as her dance.

They wondered at it.

And when the song ended, she stepped forth from the flames, like waves that parted ways that she be able to walk between their arms, her hair floating down to rest against her neck and shoulders once more as she knelt before their leader.

"It is I who hears the Summons of Fire."

* * *

**AN: This will, hopefully, show up later in the story. If it doesn't, it's another plot idea wasted in a fic that wasn't used to it's full potential. (_sighs_) Hope you enjoyed. This fic is FINALLY moving some; I've been stuck in the same place of chapter 8 for months now. But now I'm beginning chapter 9! YAY! Review please, minna-chama!**


	4. Dawn

_**Note: **The title of this chapter, 'Dawn,' is the literal translation of Akatsuki, which is 'dawn,' 'daybreak,' or 'in the event of.'_

**Chapter 4- Dawn**

The sun peeked through her window, just barely tainting the rim of the sky, but Sakura was awake and already re-examining the wounds on her feet. The burns covered the entirety of their soles, but thankfully the calluses there had taken the majority of the fire's damage. But then she still wouldn't be able to walk for a few days, her sleepy mind thought.

Let alone run.

Or train.

She grimaced at the thoughts. Itachi probably had a million things he needed her to do, and there was no telling how soon he was wanting to leave to fulfill his end of the promise.

Then again, now that she thought about it, there was so assurance that he would even _keep_ his promise.

_Not that I could ask him to give it to me in writing. Besides, I would need at least two witnesses to make it binding, and, sorry to say, but Akatsuki members aren't the most honest of people. _She felt incredibly foolish at the moment, as though she'd signed her life away for nothing.

A few minutes later, she heard a light tap on the frame of the outside door, before a dark head emerged from beyond it. Itachi studied her for a split second before deciding it was safe to enter, and he slid the shoji door closed behind him, turning to look at her again. She was clad in one of his over-sized black t-shirts, her legs sprawled out across the ample futon mattress, her pink hair flipped in a dozen awkward directions from sleep. Had he been any other man, he would've thought it a sweet scene, if not a suggestive one, but he was Itachi.

And the first thing he noticed was her injuries.

"I suppose those were from your stunt last night?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"And when you burnt yourself cooking yesterday?"

"Fires from birch woods have a tendency to speak too loudly, and are harder to resist. It may seem ironic, but cherry woods have very soft voices. Oak woods are gentle. Hickory is vivacious and fun; Pines are seductive and alluring. They all have their tendencies."

He seemed to regard her as he sat down in front of her, his onyx eyes searching hers quietly, though not as though he were trying to look her through. Her eyes, soft, sleepy beryl in the bare twilight, regarded him as well, though she was only returning his gaze, and nothing more.

"What of the beech woods?" he asked suddenly. It was a random question, and he immediately wondered what had made him ask such a thing. But she giggled sleepily, a thumb running over her burned foot absent-mindedly.

"They're sleepy. They make me want to curl up in the middle of a fire and sleep. Which is kind of dangerous, considering that I'd lose control of the flames and it'd roast me alive if I did so." A tiny bit of chakra seeped from the tips of her delicate fingers, healing up the angry white burns a little. But after a short period, her senses seemed to be about to their norm, and she bid him lie down.

But she didn't rub in the pain reliever.

She didn't stretch tiny tendrils of chakra behind his eyes, healing the nerves and chakra paths.

She removed a notebook and pencil from her bag, and set it open on her lap, jotting down a few notes before looking up at him.

"You'll have to endure some pain, and trust me, but I've got something new I want to work on first." A hesitation, but he did, at last, consent, at which she numbed him a bit. "Activate the Sharingan."

And he did. And hissed in pain as he felt her quickly open a place on his head with a chakra scalpel. For a split second he felt a burning sensation, and then he blacked out.

* * *

When he did wake up again, which in reality was only a little while later, he could hear his charge in the shower of the room's adjacent bathroom, and he rubbed the place next to his eye where she'd cut him.

That had probably been one of the top ten most uncomfortable things he'd experienced in his entire life. But he could see, resting on the floor near her pack, a small phial of some strange liquid. It was an oddly iridescent light blue.

"Itachi?"

His head shot up, and noted Sakura as she entered the room, an overly-large and fluffy towel tied around her body, her hands unconsciously drying her damp hair. She looked curious at first, and then noted the way his fingers lingered at the new, barely-noticeable scratch.

"Do your eyes feel any better?"

He nodded hesitantly. But his left eye, the one she'd cut above, was blank. Though the vision in his right eye had improved like it did each time she treated him, he was nearly blind in his left.

But it didn't hurt. She smiled again.

"That left eye will be partially blind for about a day, and then it should be back to normal, or at least, on it's way to recovery," she said, crouching and digging through her bag absentmindedly. She seemed not to mind him in the very least, but undoubtedly she knew of the incredulous look that was on his features without even sparing him a glance. "And don't you dare try to do any training today. Your eyes are what got you where you are in the first place, and a shinobi is useless without them."

"Sakura-CHAAAN!"

The call was heard down the hallway just before the Uchiha had time to protest. Sakura flinched so violently she nearly dropped the hairbrush she'd dug out. It succeeded well enough in getting Itachi's undivided and very _amused _attention. Before another second had passed, an incredibly hyper Deidara bounced into the room, an enormous grin pasted across his features.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan! Ready for your first Akatsuki training session?"

She stared at him blankly.

Within the next moment, a feminine cry of fury echoed through the entirety of the Akatsuki base.

* * *

Deidara watched Sakura stretch from the sidelines, pouting with pretend tears in his eyes, and rubbing the new bump on the back of his head, courtesy of the med-nin's chakra-filled fist.

"Sakura-chan, hidoi!" She snorted at his play on sympathy.

"Baka. You shouldn't have barged into my room. As dumb as Naruto is, he still figured it out; why didn't you?" He blinked.

"I'm not Naruto."

"No kidding. You're supposed to be smarter than that. And stop calling me 'Sakura-chan'; I keep expecting to turn around and see that dumb blonde bouncing up behind me, begging me to go to Ichiraku with him."

"Haven't heard that name in a while."

The two spun around to see Itachi, minus his cloak, leaning against a tree a couple of yards away, the typical deadpan look resting on his face. Deidara had on an innocently clueless look.

"What's Ichiraku?"

"The best ramen place in all of Konoha, and Naruto's favorite hang-out," Sakura muttered, a disgruntled look on her face. She was… apart of them now, even if she didn't like it. So, her information was their information.

Which was indefinitely bad news for Konoha. She was the Godaime's apprentice, after all.

_Which means I just happen to know all the inner workings, plans, **ideas** for plans, which people to watch out for, which to disregard, what allies are the closest, which might easily be persuaded to turn against us, our weakest and strongest points in time, projects in the works… dad gum, I don't realize how much I know until I have to list it…_

_Shoot… worst of it is… I know all of Tsunade-shishou's weak points. Which is even worse than all the rest of that put together._

**_Well aren't you a bundle of joy._**

_Shaddup._

The obviously depressed look on her features was a clue for them not to say anything. Unfortunately, Kisame didn't take the hint when he did, finally, arrive.

"Oi, little girl! You serious about training with us? I wouldn't want to kill Itachi's precious little treasure."

Had Kisame not been quite so heard-headed, he would've noted the quiet way she turned and walked towards him. Would've noticed the way her right ring-finger was twitching ever-so-slightly. Would've noticed her tense shoulders.

Heck, any observant shinobi would've noticed the killing intent in her aura. But alas, Kisame did not. Unfortunately for him.

* * *

The ex-Mist shinobi sat, disgruntled, on the sidelines, a blue hand rubbing the new discoloration on his cheek that was in the perfect shape of Sakura's fist, much in tune to the humorless irony of another's earlier position. The aforementioned 'little girl' was now sparring with Deidara. The match had started slowly; Deidara wanted Sakura to attack first, but she refused. She was not trained to attack first. She was trained to defend.

"I'm a medic, for heaven's blessed sake; don't you know that all medics are trained to stay out of the battle as much as possible? If the medic is hurt, that means they won't be able to heal the others in their squad, which means that the mission's success rate is severely decimated. _We_ _do not, under **any** circumstances attack first._"

But of course Deidara admitted, although a bit sheepishly, that he remembered no such thing. After that, his fighting style had put her at a disadvantage, but her genjutsu skills had evened up the field just enough. Though he knew how to dispel the illusion, it took him a moment to do so, and in that split second she could catch up with him, swift though he be. At last, Itachi called for them to finish up. Sakura turned to her opponent with an evil grin on her face. When all was said and done… Itachi wished he'd been able to copy her technique with his Sharingan.

"Ninpou, Sakura shuhou- Chi Ueki no Butoukai!"

Even those on the opposite side of the compound were caught.

In every direction, cherry blossom petals flew, a blizzard, a torrent, seemingly unending. Deidara's eyes tried to follow her through the surge, but found it impossible. She blended in perfectly. For a split second, a shimmering image appeared to his left, but it obviously incomplete, like a mirror that only reflected part of the picture across from it. Though, more like each petal had one side that acted as a mirror. He instinctively turned his head in the exact opposite direction and attacked a shadowy figure there, but it was nothing more than a replication. Another mirrored image, and another replication. But it was all over in the next second. The illusion dispelled, and he found himself surrounded by a ring of fire.

Very _real_ fire. Sakura gave him the "V" sign.

"I win."

* * *

_I wonder if it's alive…?_

Sakura poked the food on her plate experimentally. Kisame's cooking really did look like it would attack her. It was something kind of lumpy… and a sickly yellow color… She glanced up at him with an unnerved look on her face.

"It doesn't bite you know," he grumped. Deidara stifled his laugher behind a hand, and Itachi was barely hiding a smirk.

"You're sure?" He seemed to think for a minute, then gave his shark-ish grin.

"No."

Sakura decided to scrounge.

* * *

Itachi watched from her bed as the medic analyzed the acid from his Sharingan. Every two seconds, it seemed that she would discover something new about the substance, and from there she would write down what it seemed she had found. From the last half-hour's analysis, she had already gone through five notebook pages and cup of coffee; Itachi could hear the soft twitter of night birds and see the small in-and-out fading glow of the lightening bugs. The sun had just set a few minutes ago.

Silently, he lit the lamp for her, setting it on the desk's corner. She did not acknowledge the act.

The darkness in his left eye had, thankfully, lessened as the day wore on. He would probably be fine in the morning. Ready to fulfill his part of the bargain.

He didn't know why he had been so gentle with her. With any other hostage, he wouldn't have cared what happened to them; his Mangekyou was not out of reach just yet. He would've used any technique that pleased him to get what he wanted, even if it killed them.

_But… I can't do that with her…_ His thoughts processed the realization silently, watching her as she worked with the substance in her hands. _She is a treasure… a gold mine of information. She is healing my eyes. Why… why would she need that acid, though? What is it that she's… planning…?_

The next time the missing-nin looked up, he could see that his charge had fallen asleep, her lithe form slumped heavily over the desk. He corked the phial of acid again (noting rather uncomfortably that the cork was already eaten through half-way by the substance) and picked her up, carrying her over to her futon. She was light; her weight was no strain on him at all. He remembered that she had seemed heavy the last time… probably just the snow having soaked her through. He pulled the covers over her, and went to close her notebook on the desk. And before he closed it, a single paragraph caught his eye:

"_The Sharingan has always been supposed to have come from the Byakugan bloodline. The Byakugan has suffered none such effects as these. If the Sharingan can be purified and reverted back to a form closer to that of the Byakugan, it may be possible to stop the kekkei genkai's destructive effects."_

* * *

**AN: Yay! Soul-Mirror chapter 4! Aren't you happy with me? Because I'm happy with me... Teehee. And I KNOW Belle-chan is gonna be happy with me! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. A New Team

_**Note:** I don't care if you get mad at me for sticking Deidara in there. Sakura has to have someone to beat up on, and I need someone for comic relief. It makes for a nice, round, nearly-new Team 7. Dei-chan as Naruto, Sakura as herself, and Itachi-chan as Sasuke-kun._

_**Disclaimer: **The little song in this chapter (just part of the beginning if it) is from Mermaid Melody, which I do not own._

**Chapter 5- A New Team**

Sakura was surprised to find herself… _moving_, as she struggled to sleep's surface. And something _much_ nicer than her futon was beneath her.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan! Awake yet?"

In her surprise at Deidara's sudden appearance in front of her face, she released the neck she'd been gripping in her sleep, and fell off the back that she'd been resting on so comfortably. It just so happens that that back and the neck attached thereto had been those of a very familiar Uchiha Itachi. She couldn't help herself; the blush was completely inevitable. She glanced around her surroundings, noting that the mysterious dojo that was Akatsuki HQ was no-where to be seen.

"You just picked me up and _went_?"

Of course she was incredulous. Why wouldn't she be? She was a proud kunoichi of Konoha, and those on her new 'team' hadn't even seen fit to wake her for the beginning of the mission. If they had wanted to get going, why hadn't they just _said_ so?! It's not like she-

"You sleep like a rock sometimes, you know that, right?"

Never mind. She opted to glare at Deidara for that _very _unnecessary comment.

"Are you two coming or aren't you?" Itachi asked. They looked up, discovering him to be nearly out of sight, and they quickly scrambled to catch up with him.

Inner Sakura was currently pondering whether or not she should burn or castrate her Itachi and Deidara voodoo dolls. Outer Sakura really didn't care.

* * *

There it was again. The steady _tack-tack-tack_ of their sandals against tree bark. Again, it was driving her insane. Deidara wasn't even saying anything.

"Itachi-?"

"There is a town just a few minutes ahead. We'll pause there briefly to allow you time to buy more fitting garments."

Brief as usual, but at least now she knew what to expect. She had enough for at least one change of clothes, that much she was sure of, but when they came to a halt a few minutes later, he caught her by the arm before she left the trees, drawing her back to him. Her eyes met his before he pressed a small satchel in her hand.

"They're more expensive here than in Konoha."

And with that, he shoved her roughly off the branch, trusting to luck that she would land on her feet. It surprised her, but she was too busy thinking about the utterly sincere look that had been in his eyes to worry about fussing at him.

* * *

_Wow… their selection here is really good…_ the med-nin observed, glancing over the various articles of clothing. And they _were_ more expensive here; thankfully, though, it wasn't anything her pocketbook couldn't handle.

Except for the new medical equipment and herbs she was getting; those required some help from the money Itachi had given her. It was a surprisingly large amount. That small satchel was weighing heavy beneath her cloak.

"Can I help you with anything, miss?" a young shop attendant asked her as she observed a few little weapons in a glass case. Sakura smiled at her congenially.

"I'll let you know."

Really, she hadn't made up her mind yet. The first thing she had done was drop her weapons off to be sharpened; at home, Tenten had always done it for her. Afterwards, she'd gone to a herb-shop and wheedled a few deals out of the young man who owned it; he would be ashamed of himself for cutting her so much slack later. She giggled mentally, an evil grin plastering across her face. She tossed a couple of black t-shirts and two pair of baggy capris over her arm, deeming her shoes good enough for the time being. The glass case she'd been looking at held various types of fans; she tapped on the thick glass with a nail, summoning the shop-girl to her side again. She pointed at a pair of mahogany fans, their silk bodies made of a blood-red color, white and gold feathers hanging from ends' crests.

"These clothes here, and those two fans, if you please."

"Miss, those are very dangerous weap-!"

"That's exactly why I want them. What capabilities is it you're thinking of?" she shot back. The girl trembled.

"The fans are ones used in the Kamaitachi arts. They can utilize chakra and wind together," she spoke quietly. Sakura gave her a curt nod.

"Perfect. Bag 'em up."

She hesitated again, but did as she was told. The kunoichi paid and left the place quickly, and stopped inside the weapons shop again to pick up the few sets she'd left behind. She took the fastest route to the opposite side of the village, and quickly made her way into the trees. She could sense her keeper's chakra nearby.

"Faster than I expected."

"I don't like to shop. That's Ino's thing."

She tossed him the still-heavy coin-bag, and he caught it, weighing it in his hand experimentally. Deidara landed next to him and look on at the small velvet case, a mocking look covering his face.

"Wow, you sure didn't buy much Sakura-chan, yeah; and Itachi-san gave you a whole month's pay to work with, too!" he laughed. Itachi shot him a dirty look, but the blonde paid him no mind. Sakura stared at the bag blankly for a moment.

"Well, you get paid well, don't you?"

"Of course. We're the best."

She had meant it for a rhetorical question, but his answer was an added bonus. She grinned at him wryly.

"So, shall we?"

* * *

Okay. Again with the _tack-tack-tack_. But this time, at least, Sakura didn't have the urge to speak. She listened to a melody running through her mind, and hummed it nostalgically. Deidara looked back at her, but the beryl eyes of the medic were foggy and distant. The song was beautiful. Even, somewhere inside his heart, Itachi thought so when he heard her begin to sing the words…

_Nanairo no kaze ni fukarete_

_Tooi misaki wo mezashite ta._

_Yoakemae kikoeta melody_

_Sore wa totemo natsukashii uta…_

It was sweet and soft, and her voice was strong and soothing. Even if she didn't realize she was singing, it was alright; they would not protest, nor would they tell her that she was doing so. It was nice to have something so sweet to listen to; perhaps the purity of it was a balm to their cruel souls. Gave hope that maybe, just maybe, even murderers like them could find solace… perhaps even forgiveness, one day. And she sang until they stopped hours later, the melodies flowing easily from her chords. Deidara hated for it to stop, but he had to get her attention.

"Sakura-chan… we're stopping now."

She startled and blushed, realizing what they had been listening to for so long, and apologized. The blonde smiled at her, and again, she was reminded of another familiar someone from her past.

"Don't be sorry; it was beautiful. You'll sing more often, yeah?" he asked, giving her a flirtatious smile as they dropped to the ground. She seemed surprised by the question, and denied it, saying that she probably wouldn't. He pouted. "What a waste… and we were enjoying it, too! Ne, weren't you, Itachi-san?"

He said nothing, and proceeded to arrange a fire in the center of the tiny open spot they'd found amongst all the trees. Sakura sat her bag on the ground and tossed her cloak on top of it, chuckling and shaking her head. The shadow-nin gave her a curious look, but she shook her head again. However, Deidara wouldn't let it go so easily.

Shoot him.

"What? It was like that's what you expected, Sakura-chan!" he said, bending over to look into her down-turned face. She smiled at him.

"Of course I expected it."

"Why, yeah?"

"For me to know, not you." He huffed and turned to Itachi.

"C'mon! Help me out here, yeah; I wanna know how she knew to expect your reaction-!"

"Shut it, Deidara." He startled and turned to the medic. She had a displeased look on her face as she dug in her bag quietly. They both stared at her, though Itachi much more composed than the blonde appeared. Vengeful eyes turned on them both. "Seek no access to my memories; they are forbidden to you _and_ myself. To remember is pain, and to speak of memory is death. Ask me no questions; I will give you no answers."

And she left it at that, silently treating the Uchiha's eyes and going immediately to sleep with no more word to either.

* * *

**AN: I am almost through with the tenth chapter, and I really do believe that I'm taking this whole Akatsuki thing in a totally bizarre direction... What direction that is, I have absolutely no clue, but it's definately bizarre. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I UPDATED! Now REVIEW.**


	6. Final Lullaby

_**Note**__: My songs (the only ones in English…) are MINE. You can't have them! MINE! Watashi no uta! Read my pecking keyboard. The others belong to their respective persons; Hanamori Pink etc._

**Chapter 6- Final Lullaby**

The steady rhythm of their feet against the bark of trees did not seem to bother her the next day, or the day after that. Were one to look into the hearts of the two criminals, they missed the songs she'd sung; with her voice no longer present, they forced themselves to listen to silence over the roaring thoughts in their heads.

"Itachi-san." His whole body stiffened. She hadn't spoken at all since she'd snapped at them. "What is our destination, and your plan upon arrival?"

"We're heading to the last known location of the Oto forces. If they are not present there, we will seek them out. When they are found, we will wait until the target is alone. You will appear to him, and say what you will, after which I will utilize my Sharingan. I assume you have some place you wish for us to take him?"

"Aa. The gates of Konoha."

And for a while, she was silent again. Deidara glanced at her over his shoulder.

"Sakura-chan… please sing again." She looked up at him blankly, and he relayed her a nervous smile. "I'd much rather listen to your singing than anything else."

A brief look of contemplation flickered through her eyes for a moment before, to their relief, a melody flowed from her lips.

_Shatter me inside,_

_Break me open- read my soul._

_No secrets;_

_I'll die a little more,_

_Shatter me inside._

_(If you'll… shatter me inside…_

_Break me open wide…_

_Pull apart my soul,_

_You know which way to go._

_Behold my open heart,_

_See all my secret scars;_

_Heal me piece by piece_

'_Till I'm whole.)_

And the song continued, like a faraway cry for help. It was painful… longing. Much too bitter-sweet. They almost found themselves wishing for silence again. The joy that had been there before was no longer present in that haunting, melodic cascade. They continued as such for a little while, but suddenly, her footsteps halted, and they stopped to turn back and look at her. Roseate hair shaded her eyes, but it could not hide the wry smile creeping across her lips.

"I forgive you."

It startled them, that simple statement, but then she tossed her head back, and a genuine smile lit up her face, a new song springing from her lips as she took off in front of them.

_Don't say… anything;_

_I'll suffer through it all._

_The punishment that's yours… I'll take._

_I'll bear it all… for your sake._

_The scorn, the hate,_

_The mistrust they'll cast… my way;_

_I'll endure it all… for your sake._

* * *

She had been happier since, it seemed, but sometimes her eyes would still flicker with some deep-seated hatred and aged malice. But she did definitely grant their wishes. She sang much more often, and the songs were happy again. Like the first one, which she sang often, since it seemed they enjoyed that one so much, and even songs in other languages occasionally; English, she said, and sometimes Chinese or Korean. Even a few random poems to lift their bloodied spirits through the days. It was a long journey from their home to the country of Waves, where it was last rumored about movements of Oto forces.

_Nagareboshi ni negai wo kaketa_

_Nanatsu no hikari mitsukedashite._

_Hanarebanare ni natta JEWELED STAR_

_Unmei to iu kizuna wo shinjiteru…_

This song, too, had become familiar to them. It was definitely not the Uchiha's favorite, but he refused to interrupt her. Besides… Deidara would try to kill him for sure if he did. He liked those peppy show-tunes for some completely _odd_ reason.

But Deidara was odd anyway.

His favorite… his favorite was something different. It was another one of those softly dramatic songs. It whispered comfort, and promised solace, and seemed to call him, draw him, towards repentance. It almost made him smirk when she began spouting that very song, as though having read his mind.

_You never cry, or show your sadness,_

_You always hold it in_

_Until there is a silent night_

_Encasing you within._

_Then teardrops fall like rain;_

_Silent and mournful, they soak into your pillow._

_Sometimes the weakest hands are_

_The best shoulders to cry on._

Such a soft sound. And her voice would sometimes flash a strain of emotion, though most of the songs were sung with veiled feelings. But she favored that one at the softer times. It seemed a nostalgic tune for her.

"Sakura." She immediately quieted as he spoke, her senses stretching to survey the area. He never interrupted her unless it were something. And she was right.

"Genjutsu…" came the murmur, a dry, wicked smile playing her features. "I suppose we're near, then?"

A nod. Deidara split off a little to the side, and they continued to move.

* * *

Obsidian eyes glimmered in darkness, sweat dripping from their owner's porcelain brow as his head raised in surprise.

_Why…?_

Why was _he_ here? The Akatsuki HQ was several weeks travel west; why would his brother be here? It made the younger Uchiha suspicious. The murder's chakra was unmistakable. Without explanation to Orochimaru, he left their training room and maneuvered his way from their building into the open. Just beyond the second stand of trees, wasn't he? That's where it seemed. But there were two different chakra with him; one completely unknown to him, but the other so familiar he was shocked that he couldn't place it. Something naturally soothing, and that he would trust meeting completely, were it not for his brother being with it. But he tread carefully into the clearing which the three resided in; hidden among the trees, were they? Obsidian eyes scanned the greenery.

"Sasuke-kun."

He couldn't help but spin around in surprise. That voice was completely unmistakable, even for the years they had been parted.

Roseate hair.

Beryl eyes.

"Sakura…"

She smiled at him softly from where she leaned against a giant oak. Emerald orbs expressed a nostalgic wretchedness to him, one he'd never before seen present in her demeanor.

"Gomen ne, Sasuke-kun."

"For what? What's happened, Sakura?" he caught himself saying hurriedly. Such a surprise… was she followed by his brother, or had he captured her and used her as a lure? That look in her eyes spoke of so much grief… "Sakura… why are you sorry?"

"Because… I'm going to hurt you."

Instinct told him to prepare for battle. To attack, back away, even run, but within his very heart, he couldn't comprehend why she would do such a thing. She _loved_ him, didn't she? She had always said so. A tear slipped down her cheek, startling him further.

"Don't worry, you won't remember anything. I just… need to speak my peace first." She straightened and stepped forward. The two or three yards of grass between them was like the unspoken line that neither was supposed to transverse; neither he to her, as a murder to a safe-haven, nor her to him, as a lover to he who has been condemned to death. A watery smile graced her lips.

"Do you… remember when we were younger? When we became Team 7? Naruto was so mad to be on the same team as you. It was hilarious, almost. But you were indifferent to all of us. You were focused on your goals to the point of being beyond caring. But you were what Naruto needed; you were the goal that he wanted to reach. You were the one who became so close to him, that the two of you were not only rivals, but best friends… maybe even to the point of being like brothers. He admired you, even if he didn't admit it.

"When we went to Wave country… do you remember? We had to face Haku and Zabuza… and Naruto and I thought you were killed by Haku's attacks. Afterwards… when you woke up in the middle of the battle… it was so peculiar that you asked me if Naruto had killed Haku then, but it was logical, wasn't it? He protected you. It was because of you that his very special power first showed through. Because he was emotionally distraught over what he thought to be your death… he was able to access the Kyuubi's chakra.

"And… I remember a lot about our first Chuunin exams… When you came to, after the curse-seal was placed on you, and you saw me, you asked me what had happened… who had hurt me. You didn't even care or seem to notice how scary you looked with the seal spreading over your body… But you were frightening… because you were taking pleasure in breaking that man's arms. You didn't even stop… until I tried to hold you back.

"You even stopped me from raising my hand for you… because you couldn't control your chakra properly. I was scared when you did that… but I let you have it your way. I wouldn't go against you.

"But… the last straw… was that mission with Idate-san, wasn't it? When Naruto defeated Aoi-san after you tried. What you never knew was that… you were the reason he was able to win. He told me afterwards that the crack in the Thunder-sword was his opportunity. The one that _you_ made with your Chidori."

During this… these reliving of memories… a number of emotions passed over him. Confusion, surprise, sadness, nostalgia… each and every one connected to these memories. A number of more tears had tracked their ways down her cheeks, and she still smiled at him, eyes sparkling dully as they watched the play of emotions that made themselves apparent of his face. She loosed a heavy sigh, swiping away the salty droplets and gaining his attention, and gave a wry smile at one of them that perched on the tip of her finger.

"Sadly… this is the last time I will be allowed to remember such things."

"Sakura…?" The statement had pained him. Why would she never wish to remember again? They were ones she had kept until now, weren't they? She flicked the tear away, and a guileless smile covered her features. An unnatural smile.

"Sasuke-kun… you'll think it cliché, but it seems I've made a deal with the devil." At that point, Itachi emerged from the tree behind her, dropping to the ground at her side without a sound. The sight of her first love's eyes widening in horror and hate gripped her heart for a moment, and forced words of apology into her throat, but the time for apologies was over.

She was no longer a Konoha nin.

"I have promised to heal Itachi's eyes in exchange for you being returned to Konoha. I hope that you'll stay there, this time," she growled out, that wry smile returning again. He stared at her in disbelief, and back directly into the waiting hands of Deidara, unwitting to his presence. "We'll be taking you to Konoha, Sasuke. But you won't remember any of this conversation when you get there, so you won't have long to hate me. But… as a parting gift…"

It hadn't been her intention to do this, neither had Itachi expected it, but the Sharingan Master knew that it was something his 'little brother' would keep with him in his memories.

_My heart cried out to say _

_I'm sorry, please hear me, please forgive me!_

_I know the pain is bad, _

_and I don't seem to be where you need me,_

_Please understand…_

_There are no words…_

_I'm sorry,_

_I forgot,_

_I'll never do again;_

_It's all so empty; you've heard it all before, so_

_There are no words._

And a matter of moments after, all the youngest Uchiha knew was darkness, and a final lullaby that would haunt his dreams forever.

* * *

**AN: Tada! REAL angst! It only gets better from here, folks. This chapter was taken up with a lot of music, though; remember, most of these songs are mine, so DON'T USE WITHOUT ASKING MY PERMISSION! Read, enjoy and REVIEW!**

**Next Time: _Letters Home_**


	7. Letters Home

**Chapter 7- Letters Home**

_Dear Naruto:_

_It's been a while, hasn't it? Yes, I know, I've gone completely missing. Knowing you, you've probably been going utterly insane with wondering about me. But… you can't worry about me any more. The next time you see me… you'll have to kill me._

_I'm defecting._

_On my return journey from Bloodmist, I was captured by Uchiha Itachi. As it was obvious that, in no way would I be able to escape, I struck a deal with him. He wanted me to heal his eyes. I agreed. In return, he was to capture Sasuke-kun and alter his memories, as well as remove the curse-seal. Sasuke now believes that Orochimaru killed the Uchiha clan, and that he and Itachi were the only survivors, Itachi taking on the role of avenger and leaving to join Akatsuki for the purpose of killing Orochimaru. What he thinks of me, now… I don't know. Whatever Itachi's Mangekyou told him to believe, I'm sure._

_But now, I am Konoha's enemy. I've sworn my allegiance to the Akatsuki. Sasuke-kun is my parting gift to you. Forgive me, please, but even in forgiveness, I encourage you to kill me._

_Tell Ino that I hope Shikamaru proposes soon, and Neji-san that I hope things with Tenten continue on well. Oh, and ask Hinata out, will you? She's loved you longer than I've loved Sasuke-kun, almost._

_Take care,_

_Sakura_

* * *

Days later, Sasuke awoke in the Konohagakure hospital. What had happened? He couldn't remember. Why would he be in the hospital? What was going on…? 

"Sasuke." A rough, but familiar voice interrupted his thoughts as he sat up in the uncomfortable bed. Across the room, at the door, Naruto sat backwards in an old, metal chair. His sapphire eyes shone dully, even in the bright, mid-morning light that danced through the window to play across his face. Why was he here?

"Naruto… what happened? Why am I in the hospital?"

The blonde smiled sadly.

"For me and Tsunade-baa-chan to know, not you."

A secret? That wasn't like him. But neither was the way he seemed to be contemplating his every reaction, either. The Naruto he knew was brash and rambunctious, even to the point of being annoying. Not this.

"Naruto… where's Kakashi-sensei? And… Sakura?" At first, his teammate's face had still seemed to be contemplating him, but then… with the mention of Sakura… his features had darkened. Anger? Resentment? Hurt? Betrayal? He couldn't place half of what he could see in those azure eyes. "What's happened, Naruto? I didn't do anything to get hurt, so why am I-?"

"Shut up. I don't want to hear any more."

The vindictive, poisonous tone that stained his words shocked the Uchiha. He got up and turned to go, but Sasuke did not miss the single tear that escaped his eyes to fall to the cold tile floor.

* * *

_Dear Tsunade-shishou:_

_Hey! I've missed you. And knowing you, you've probably actually gone __**sober**__ trying to find me. But… you can't bother with that anymore._

_I'm Akatsuki._

_Uchiha Itachi captured me, and I made a bargain with him; he wanted me to heal his eyes, and I consented. In return, I leave you this parting gift: Uchiha Sasuke._

_The curse-seal is gone- Itachi removed it. And his memories have been altered. I don't know what he will remember how, but part of the deal was that he make it appear that Orochimaru was the one who killed off his clan, and that he (Itachi) left to join Akatsuki to gain power as an avenger. But I know nothing else of what memories were changed. Only these were the requirements._

_The Sharingan is interesting; if Itachi ever dies and I'm able to return to Konoha, I'll probably be able to fix Kakashi-sensei's Sharingan eye perfectly. It's all in the substance._

_Please make sure that Sasuke is still with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei; don't give him any hints to the truth, if you can avoid it. I don't want his world to come crashing down again. He is my only way to make some form of amends. You'll have to kill me the next time you see me, Shishou. I forgive you, and hope you'll forgive me, too._

_Take care,_

_Sakura_

* * *

Tsunade crept into the hospital room late that night, sliding the door closed as quietly as she could. She knew the Uchiha knew she was there, but loud noises didn't seem to fit the situation well. Evidently, because of his shift in memories, he'd said something that had set Naruto off earlier, and it had had equally unkind effects on him. 

"How do you feel?"

"Physically fine." He hesitated there. "Mentally… I'm just wondering what happened."

"Confused. I know what you mean."

The blonde woman went about her business softly. At the end of a normal routine, though, she tilted his head to the side and examined his neck for a moment, her eyes flickering darkly before she turned away.

_She was right. The seal is gone_.

"You'll be released in the morning, but…" she trailed off for a minute, honey-gold eyes wavering on a far wall, moonlight revealing strangely shadowed depths. "Don't go outside of Konoha for a few days… maybe keep close to Kakashi. Okay?"

He nodded hesitantly, not sure what to make of her behavior. Not sure what to make of _anyone's _behavior, on that thought. Naruto… resentful? The nurses had all acted skittish around him… and Tsunade was asking him not to leave the village, and even keep someone close by.

"Did… I do something?" She paused at the door as his words drifted to her, almost too quiet to hear. "Something… I don't remember?"

He could hear a strained tone weaving through her tight words.

"There are going to be a lot of things you probably won't remember. But they're things that can't be helped."

And a murmur that she probably didn't even know she'd spoken met his ears as the door slid closed behind her.

"_A lot of things… Sakura wanted."_

* * *

**AN: Teehee. I'm so evil. But I'm already driving Belle crazy about things in the 10th and 11th chapters, just because I can. Dou? Is it enjoyable? (grins) I love this story SOOO much! I hope you do too, so please show the love and leave a review!

* * *

**

**Next Time: _Hiding_**

_He dusted off his desk a little, taking note of some mission papers with excessively old dates on them, and a few random snapshots that littered the wood besides; the dates… four years ago? What was he, nostalgic? He'd been here all that time, so where were the more recent pictures? He opened the top middle drawer and noted that some manner of creature had gotten a hold of his pens and pencils; when had that happened? He would need new ones…_


	8. Hiding

**Chapter 8- Hiding**

Even to the overly emotionally-dense Kisame, Sakura was eerily happy. She treated Itachi's eyes without complaint, took Deidara up on his frequent match challenges, threatened Zetsu with weed-killer when he taunted her, and was a basically happy, hyper kunoichi. Happy enough to, most nights, volunteer to fix dinner.

Deidara claimed it was because she didn't want to face Kisame's cooking again. Needless to say, he'd gotten a beating for that.

_November 10__th_

_The Sharingan are reacting well to treatment, but the damage still returns with the subject's constant usage; the acid is almost devastating, but the chakra system is still surprisingly well in-tact. The walls of the blood and chakra streams seem to have developed differently from the norm; they're thicker, and posses a chemical of some sort that appears to lessen the damage done and heal what occurs more quickly. But the damage is so extensive that these cells are depleted, and can't handle the whole of the load they're given._

This entry was what she'd written down for the night before. Itachi scanned the rest without interest, before turning his eyes upon the pink-haired medic, which he had unceremoniously dropped on her futon a few minutes previous. She still lay sprawled in the same position he'd left her, her chest rising and falling slowly with her breaths. A whisper issued forth from her lips, though, catching his attention. Leaning over her, his ear close to her mouth, he managed to catch a phrase:

"_I'm so sorry… kill me… kill me… please… I didn't want to… just please… kill me!"_

Her breaths were beginning to quicken. He pulled away, and watched for any sign as to if she would awaken. Strange, he found it, that she would rather die beneath a comrade's hand than his. To die as a traitor, rather than one who was Konoha's ally.

"Well? Now that you're paying such close attention to me, are you going to speak your mind?"

The blank voice wafted up to him in the form of a mere whisper, and he finally noticed that her eyes were open. He cursed himself for letting his mind wander, though it did not show to the kunoichi beneath him.

"Unusual that one who was raised in Konoha would rather die a traitor." Eyes flickered darkly, and a displeased look skittered across her face.

"I would rather have a fighting chance than no chance at all."

He seemed to accept the answer, but it was not for her to tell. After all, she had her own agenda to work with. If Itachi ever got himself killed, she could go back to Konoha and take care of two other Sharingan-users with whom she was well-acquainted. Images of silver and raven hair played across her mind for a moment before being thrust back into the oblivion where she kept all other memories. They were enough when they haunted her dreams; in the waking minutes, she was chained body and blood to the Akatsuki and the Sharingan Master before her.

* * *

"Ne— Sakura— chan—" Deidara huffed between strikes, the frequent _clang_ of weaponry interrupting him, "are you really— okay? You seem— a little— out of it— since that last mission."

No answer. That last mission. Her first mission- with the Akatsuki that is.

No answer.

"So I—was right. You are—out of it. Care to—explain why?" But of course, she didn't. A strained smile skittered across her face.

"Don't push it, Deidara." Their kunai clashed, and she flipped back away from him, her eyes glittering forebodingly as she struggled to open her lungs with oxygen once more. "My memories… are why I suffer. And my memories—" she lunged at him, and his crystalline eyes glanced up at her a bit in shock.

"And my memories— are why I fight."

* * *

"Sit still, would you? Mou!" Sakura slathered a disinfectant over Deidara's arm; an unlucky punch had landed him against a rather sturdy oak, and it had not been a happy meeting. He squirmed and jumped as her rough hands and nails snagged on skin, tissue and splinters.

"Sakura-chan, that hurt-!"

"Quit your whining, for heaven's blessed sake! A little ointment and a few stitches aren't going to kill you."

Shinobi medics definitely get the most laughs from their patients. As shinobi, they are accustomed to pain, and unafraid of it. But sometimes, things just have a habit of turning out a little more humorous. For example, at the very moment that Sakura mentioned the word 'stitches,' the entirety of the sculptor's body went utterly rigid, and a blatant look of fear made itself apparent in his eyes.

And Sasuke used to hate rubbing alcohol.

Kakashi was scared to death of camphophenique.

Naruto despised the bandage tape; he knew that it would eventually have to come _off_.

Ah, stitches; she'd had more than her fair share, she was sure, and just as many patients that didn't like them. She could feel Deidara's eyes on her, staring at her, his complaints dying on his lips, surprisingly. And his heartbeat had significantly calmed. He was steeling himself into a shinobi state; a state of being where pain and blood no longer mattered or hurt. She bit off the end of the medical thread she'd prepared, and placed the delicate piece of metal to his skin, effortlessly sliding it through. She sharpened it with chakra; it was more precise than senbon because of it. Tenten had taught her _this_ much, at least. With that though, her needle paused in mid-stitch for a moment, the small shaft of steel piercing two flaps of skin, being stained a bit by blood still flowing, before she forced back the memory and resumed her duty. His blue eyes were still riveted on her.

"Sakura-chan… are you-?" He flinched, her misguided needle cutting him off. He took the hint.

Say nothing.

* * *

Sasuke glanced up at the eaves of his house. Why did it feel like he hadn't been here in so long? The door creaked when he opened it, and the floor was covered in dust. He grimaced at the feeling of the dirt against his bare feet, and wondered when was the last time he swept.

_Why haven't I cleaned this place up?_

He glanced in the kitchen. It was no cleaner in there; wilted, twisted flowers stood black in a vase on the windowsill, and sunlight filtered through behind it, revealing the filth that danced in the air. It looked like the family cat had stuck around; its paw-prints covered the floor, some clean, some dirty from age.

_What happened?_

His feet tread down the hall to his room, and he glanced behind him as he stopped at the door, taking note with disgust that his feet, also, had left perfect imprints on the floor. He opened his door cautiously; the paper was brittle, and he knew it needed to be replaced. Shoji doors were like that; how long had he waited?

_Where was I?_

He dropped his pack onto the bed, and coughed as a cloud of dust was his reward.

_What is it?_

He dusted off his desk a little, taking note of some mission papers with excessively old dates on them, and a few random snapshots that littered the wood besides; the dates… four years ago? What was he, nostalgic? He'd been here all that time, so where were the more recent pictures? He opened the top middle drawer and noted that some manner of creature had gotten a hold of his pens and pencils; when had that happened? He would need new ones…

But his mind broke from these thoughts as he glanced up at the window. His… picture… It was face-down… His eyes grew wide, and he made his way over, gingerly picking up the frame. A perfect rectangle of grime surrounded the place where it had lain; this picture had never once been disturbed. The glass surrounding Sakura was completely shattered.

_What… have I done?_

* * *

**AN: I like the end of this chapter best. Really, the title is referring to how Sakura was hiding from her ture feelings, rather than literal _hiding_, but it's all good. Please enjoy and review!**


	9. Acid

**Chapter 9- Acid**

"Itachi…"

He glanced up at her from cleaning and sharpening a pair of kodachi, waiting for her to continue. Her green eyes met his without fear; that had been happening a lot lately. She was definitely not afraid of him anymore. Whether that was a good thing or a bad one, he was still contemplating. After all… even if she was adapting well to her life in the Akatsuki, she was, on the inside, still loyal to Konoha. It showed every time the place or one of its inhabitants were mentioned. Showed in the way her hands would pause and tremble, the way her normally bright face and eyes would become completely expressionless. He waited her to continue.

"Turn off the Sharingan." He followed her commands. If it came time to deal with his eyes, he submitted himself to her perfectly. In no other area did he let her talk to him forcefully, and she knew it. But this was different; it was what she was here for, essentially. "Close your eyes."

He did, and flinched again at her procedure for extracting the acidic substance from behind his eyes. He counted the sutures as she mended his brow. But before he could open his eyes, she plastered a small bunch of cotton over his eyes, using medical tape to hold it in place, and then wrapped a heavy blindfold over her work. His hand twitched; by habit, he'd had the impulse to grab her throat and thoroughly strangle her. But he resisted, and she explained herself.

"I'm trying something new. Humor me with my theory."

Okay. Explained herself… to an extent.

He grunted in acknowledgement. He jumped again, though, when he felt her fingers tug on and release his hair from its bindings. Rough, callused fingers emitted a cold chakra, far different from her usual one, and he stiffened. But she wasn't doing anything suspicious yet… other than that. They searched his scalp, chakra easing slowly through his skin, searching out his chakra system and following it. The man was nervous, to be sure; his whole brain felt as though it were freezing over, like an unseasonable winter creeping around inside of him. Her chakra was usually very warm.

It's as if her soul was this cold winter… was it her very soul she was pouring into this?

Unknown to the two, Deidara watched from the corner of the building a little ways away. It was just another mission…

He could get them later… right?

* * *

"…"

"Uso…"

Deidara sighed. Itachi was emotionless, per usual, but Sakura was staring at the blonde in unadulterated disbelief. Her mind was obviously still trying to process the new information.

Their new mission: infiltrate Konohagakure no Sato, acquire the Scroll of Sealing, and get out as fast as possible. _Infiltrate. Konoha._

No wonder the poor thing was having trouble processing the information. This was the _last thing_ they had expected to happen. As her brain began a sluggish movement towards reason, a few things became increasingly clear.

1. Now they would require all the information she had on Konoha to be presented to them. They were screwed.

2. When they got there, undoubtedly her old sensei, her friends, acquaintances, regular patients, etc. would know her chakra pattern immediately. _She_ was screwed.

Sakura wandered a little ways off, and began to steadily thump her head against the doorframe. Deidara heaved a sigh, and exited the room silently, muttering something to Itachi about preparing to leave in the morning. The thumps became noticeably louder.

Itachi was a very patient man. Very patient. And much more lenient than one might think. But after a whole minute straight of the consistent, dull _thuds_ of her ample forehead against the woodwork of the door, the man was more than just a little irked. Irritation was one of the things he did not deal with well.

_So… stupid. Total… idiot. Moron. Insane. Demented. Soft-hearted. Weak. Stupid. Demented. Moron. Idiot. Idiotic-!_

The kunoichi was thoroughly shocked out of her trance when she discovered a fine, callused hand protecting her from her annoyingly destructive tendency. Warm breath ghosted across the shell of her ear provocatively, and a seductive purr nearly made her squeak in surprise.

"Cease, Sakura."

Two words, and she was sure the largest invisible lightening bolt known to shinobi kind had just shot down her spine. She stiffened further. Judging by his tone, posture, and apparently relaxed reprimand, Itachi was tired at the moment.

Yes, contrary to popular belief, the infamous Uchiha _could_ be read.

"Prepare. We leave at dawn." And he withdrew from her.

She'd been so caught up in the way his breath brushed past her ear and down her throat that she'd failed to notice his _body_ proximity. Her back felt very cold now that he had removed himself from her. Sakura cursed softly.

This had bad luck written all over it.

* * *

_This is stupid. This is even worse than my decision not to fight him in the first place. This is even worse than my plan on how to get Sasuke-kun back to Konoha and get information on the Sharingan. Attraction to one infamous, S-class family-killing mass-murder is ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN!_

_**Which is probably why you're falling faster than Naruto for a bowl of ramen.**_

Inner Sakura was having fun playing sadist with Outer Sakura's very conflicted emotions. True, at first fear had caused her to submit herself to the Uchiha. And the slight feeling of debt. And a twinge of curiosity.

_**Not to mention that sexy body and cool personality.**_

Outer Sakura shoved a mental sock in Inner Sakura's mouth. Yes, the Uchiha was physically attractive. But her heart was still hers; she still loved Sasuke! Even her blood-ties and solemn oath to this most infamous of all missing-nin could not change that fact.

Itachi speculated after the expression on her face; with the blindfold currently still in place (and direct prohibition about removing it), he was left to idly wonder. It would be predictable, were it filled with anger and conflict; unlike him, this kunoichi was neither lusting for power nor self-serving. As long as this mission hadn't come up, she probably would've done fine. But as it stood, she was going to have to face her weak point.

And this mission was obviously rubbing salt into an already raw and bleeding wound.

He sensed that the branch ahead was a little further than the rest, and pressed a bit more chakra to his feet, hoping that the kunoichi behind him would also notice and not make an extreme fool of herself by falling. They really didn't have time to retrieve her bloody corpse from the forest floor. But apparently, as revealed a few seconds later, her awareness hadn't completely left her. He noted passively that, even without any increase in chakra concentration, her sandal landed perfectly against the rough wood. Deidara pulled over next to him, matching his pace to that of his superior's.

"Ne… Do you think Sakura-chan'll be alright?" The blonde was a bit disconcerted, what with the familiar crimson eyes being hidden from him by a blindfold, but he retained his professional demeanor. Itachi paused, as he always did, before answering at length.

"Saa… ne."

* * *

"Tell me why, again, we're coming in through the _west _gate?" Deidara asked, complaining slightly to the pink-haired kunoichi on the limb in front of him. Inner Sakura was shaking her fist and muttering obscenities that Outer Sakura had only ever heard from the mouths of Sai and Jiraiya, and was quite surprised that her alter-ego remembered. Deidara was getting on the short-fused other's last nerve. "It was such a long way around, too-!"

"Baka." He startled at being cut off, but her expression was serious as she gazed passively at the great wall surrounding the city. "The west gate is less heavily guarded than the north and east because it lies towards our allies in the Wind country. I know all the guard rotations by heart. Keep quiet when you don't know what you're talking about; better letting people think you an idiot than opening your mouth and proving it."

Not thinking about it at all, she had reprimanded him harshly, it seemed. The rebuke was ill-received; Deidara, though usually unaffected, was slightly hurt by her words. And Itachi wasn't very happy with her commands towards a superior, even if he did agree. They were stunned when she shot from the branches suddenly, binding her feet to the wall with the barest fraction of her chakra. They followed just as stealthily, though, and a moment later they were on the very crest of the wall. Without hesitation, she took to the opposite parapet, and leapt off, easily landing on a nearby rooftop. A glance around and she was positive of her position.

"We have ten minutes." She shot off at a slight easterly angle towards the Hokage Tower, her companions not far behind. "When we arrive, cloak yourself, and watch the hallway in which we will be taking up our time. Itachi, I'm leaving myself completely in your hands. Within the walls of Konoha, even the slightest flare of my chakra will bring two dozen shinobi on us in a fraction of a moment."

At this point, she looked back at her blindfolded patient. He didn't have his Sharingan, or even his sight this time; it was going to be difficult. But if he ever wanted to see again, she knew he'd take care of her.

Taking to a power line, she led them to a window on the fourth floor. It slid open noiselessly, but the kunoichi felt alarm bells going off in her head.

That window was supposed to stick! The one in Tsunade's office is the one that opened easily! She sighed, leading them through anyway. At this late hour, and considering that only the desk-lamp was on, her shishou was likely as not either at the hospital or getting so drunk she couldn't stand up straight. Another glance over her shoulder as the two entered the room, and she nodded.

"I'm counting on you two. Let's go."

* * *

At the Uchiha compound, Sasuke startled awake. His gaze shot to the window, onyx eyes bleeding red and peering into the night. Could it… even be possible…?

_Niisan…_

* * *

Sakura hefted the giant scroll from its buried position in the storeroom, and turned to look at her companion. She could probably ask him this about now.

"How are your eyes faring? Any pain?" He turned away from her.

"… A twitch now and then…"

"Did it throb for a while at first?" He nodded. She seemed satisfied with that. "Has it… twitched… lately?"

A negative. She nodded. Moving to him, she undid the blindfold, and gingerly removed the bandages. He still did not open his eyes, wondering why she had chosen _now_ of all times to take up on her treatments.

"Let the light in, but you're still forbidden to use the Sharingan until further notice."

When he did open his eyes, she had already turned to go into the hallway where Deidara was waiting for them. He followed silently. It amazed him now, though. His vision was even sharper than just after one of her treatments. The cold chakra she'd pumped into him two days before was still residing behind his eyes, and though the pain had subsided, a dull ache still weighed heavily on his nerves. Deidara nodded to them noiselessly, and took the scroll from Sakura, swinging it onto his back without effort. The carpet in the halls muffled the last of the sounds from their sandals as they made their ways back into the Hokage's office, and out the window. With it shut firmly behind them, they took off across the power line again to get back to the rooftop across the road, and paused there. Sakura did an once-over of the city, smiling mentally at how it hadn't changed.

"Sakura-chan, we need to-"

"Sakura!"

The group spun on their heels to see who had discovered them.

Uchiha Sasuke.

He gazed upon the three of them in confusion, onyx eyes openly ignorant of their mission. Sakura was delighted at the look on his face; he was no longer the stoic young man that she remembered, and for that, she was thankful. She knew a little atonement for her sins had been made, just by seeing that look on his face.

"Sakura… Niisan… what're you doing?" The roseate-haired woman could feel the reaction in Itachi by being called by that name again. Niisan. Big Brother. "Why are you taking the Scroll of Sealing?"

"Oi, Sasuke-chibi! Get out of the way. We've gotta make time."

Deidara gave a feral grin and attacked the unwitting teen, striking at him with as much strength as hidden chakra would allow. But his shout as he dodged was too loud. Sakura winced.

"Deidara! Leave him be! We need to go!"

The blonde grunted in annoyance. But even as he moved to return to them, another boy came to them on the rooftop behind them. Naruto.

He stared at them in dismay, and Sakura returned his saddened gaze. Withdrawing the phial of Sharingan acid from her pocket, she looked up at him sorrowfully.

"Sayonara, Naruto."

And she dashed it to the ground at his feet.

* * *

**AN: Whee! And the plot thickens. XD I'm sure you're all _quite_ ready to kill me, but since you won't get the rest of the story if you do, I suppose that means you're _also _fit to be tied. XP Oh well. My computer was in the shop, so despite the fact that I would've updated at least a _little_ bit earlier, I couldn't. Sorry. But here it is anyway; the next chapter of Soul-Mirror!**

**Next Time: Death**


	10. Death

**Chapter 10- Death**

Weeping might have been expected. But she was a kunoichi. She did not weep.

Blood slid down her arm. That small, delicate wrist of hers was crying metal, red and white, and tangy with salt. Bloody tears; the only kind she would ever shed. The soft, supple underside of that muscled limb was dyed red with those foolish tears. She forced more of it out.

It was this kunai, the one she held, that Sasuke had given her for her fourteenth birthday. The only one she'd had while they were teammates. He'd left… before she could get _him_ a birthday present. The mirror of the running river into which she gazed distorted her passive face wildly. The river, too, was crying. It babbled its troubles to the world in the language of the water and woods, weeping with no-one to understand its pain. Even she could not hear the words it was so mournfully trying to tell her. She cursed softly, staring at the curling, crimson-stained flesh.

"Why? _Why?_ He… knew I couldn't handle this…" _She_ knew she couldn't handle this. They _all_ knew she couldn't handle this.

_Please… stop this pain… inside…_

* * *

He knew when half an hour passed that something was wrong. She'd said she'd "be right back." And Sakura was anything if not truthful. And _punctual_.

He cast a meaningful glance at Deidara, and started into the woods the moment the action was acknowledged. The sculptor understood. He had somewhat expected it. He'd… done the same thing, once upon a time. They both had. Different reasons, maybe, but their feelings were the same.

Theirs was a dangerous profession. Especially when their own demons got out of hand.

* * *

Sasuke stared down at the ashen face of his best friend, onyx orbs threatened by tears of grief and confusion.

Why had she _done_ that?

_Niisan… he's not a bad person! He __**isn't**__! He's trying to kill Orochimaru and avenge Mom and Dad! He's not a bad person! __**He isn't!**_

_**Then… is it Sakura who's evil?**_

The very thought suddenly echoing within his mind stopped him cold, froze his heart. Sakura… evil?

An image of rose-colored hair, laughing beryl eyes, and a sugar-sweet smile skittered across his mind. Her hands reaching out to him… strands of hair fluttering in a summer breeze whilst shadows danced across her ivory skin. That innocent Sakura he remembered… she did this?

Naruto had been hospitalized immediately, and it had taken hours of surgery for Tsunade to remove the acid from his body. It was so destructive… If only a little was left behind, they soon knew, for it could eat holes in the human body terrifically fast. The whole front of the blonde nin was spattered with patches where the skin was eaten clean through, and the muscle was ugly and exposed. Worse was the inexplicable carnage on the boy's feet, where the glass had broken- if it hadn't been for Tsunade's immediate treatment upon the rooftop, he probably wouldn't have _had _feet. The boy perched on the side of the bed and buried his head in his hands.

_When did she cut her hair? When did those spring-green eyes darken to emerald? Why was she afraid of me? Why… did… how… What was she doing?_

_Where has she been?_

_Where have… __**I**__ been?_

* * *

"Tsunade-sama…"

"I know. This is far from what we ever could have imagined happening."

The Hokage glanced about her office, and those gathered there. Jounin, Chuunin, medics and ANBU alike, they were assembled. Among their ranks were many of the former Rookie 9, as were their senseis, and even Temari of the Sand, who had been in Konoha on business when the alert was raised. Their sorrowful faces were more than enough to tell her what all were thinking.

_Haruno Sakura has truly betrayed Konoha. We __**will**__ have to kill her upon next encounter._

"Haruno Sakura will be officially-"

"Stop!"

All eyes turned upon Ino. Her hands fisted at her sides as she attempted in vain to keep her tears from falling. Shikamaru moved next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders softly.

"We can't do anything about it; it was her choice-"

"It couldn't have been! There is _no way in all of the Five Shinobi Nations that Sakura did this of her own will!_" The scream echoed hollowly inside the room's silence, a denial that they all wished was true. "That's _not_ the Sakura I know! You all know it too! Sakura would _never_ turn her back on a comrade!"

But she had attacked a boy who was like her brother. She had attacked Naruto, and damaged him badly. He was in _critical condition_. The boy she had run to when things were at their worst; whom she had relied on, spent time with, grown fond of. The Naruto that she had nearly killed herself saving time and time again, and who she had, in return, also been saved by.

She had attacked a person like _that_. How could they even begin to think she would not attack them as well?

Tears streamed down the girl's face. She'd known Sakura as an insecure child, and watched her blossom into a beautiful flower. A young woman brimming with talent and intelligence, one who was confident in her skills as both a kunoichi and medic. She'd seen her grow more forgiving, and more merciful, and more genteel than any kunoichi she had ever met.

How could… _that_ Sakura… become an enemy?

"I'm begging you, please… Don't do this…"

* * *

When he found her, ten minutes later, he observed her position on the riverbank for a few moments. The droplets of blood falling into the river did not escape his attention; but the way she was doing it so calmly was the reason he opted merely to watch. Her head shifted; she knew he was there.

"You… could've stopped them, couldn't you?" The dead-quiet, toneless whisper barely made it to his ears.

"It was Leader's decision." Her posture stiffened, indicating her displeasure with the answer.

"That isn't what I asked, Itachi."

"It isn't what you're _asking_, either." She tried to turn around, but to her surprise, Itachi had seated himself comfortably behind her. He shifted a little, with her between his legs, and took her bleeding arm in his hands. Really, the gashes weren't so deep; but they would have, eventually, allowed her to die of blood loss. A long, painful death… "Don't think you're the only one who's done this. You aren't."

She stared at him as he took a kerchief from his pocket and dipped it in the river, his hands, somewhat awkwardly, tending her wounds. The strokes he made to wipe away the blood were a little rough, but they were as gentle as _he_ could manage. All she could do, herself, was stare at concentrated onyx eyes in wonder. Those eyes turned upon her, for a moment, as he spoke a few last words before inducing sleep upon her body.

"_We have all walked the road of death. Some of us have died, but a few have lived. Live, Sakura; there is more for your life just yet."_

* * *

Deidara cast a glance up at the heavens. It'd been a long time since something like this had happened. He'd been the last one.

To attempt suicide, that is.

Really, Tobi and Kisame were probably the only ones that hadn't, and the closest Sasori-danna had come was dismantling himself, since he was a puppet. But he and Itachi… each of them, he knew, _knew_, had tried more than once. Their lives were a little more complicated than the Hidden Villages gave them credit for.

Contrary to popular belief, they weren't heartless. Being heartless would've made things so much easier at this point, it was laughable.

But they were stuck; restrained by a quagmire of their own making. A swamp of their sins, drawing them into the depths of Hell for their transgressions, and there was no saving grace to be offered their black and crimson souls. The Fates had already woven the story of their bloody paths into their tapestries, and there wasn't a single loose thread to unravel the work they'd done. Without a second thought, the blonde Iwa-nin stabbed himself, working a kunai into his thigh and watching as blood flowed gently from his wound, and relaxed as a few splatters ran down his face. His mind was blank.

Pain was a rare refuge; it had to be something exquisite to even make him flinch. But it was something like this that would make his mind go blank, and for a little while, he could forget that his hands were stained crimson with the blood of those he had once held dear.

* * *

**AN: Whee. Luff to the angst. (_cackles evilly_) And yes, yes, I know it took me long enough. I blame Belle; she DIDN'T FREAKIN' GET OFF HER LAZY BUTT AND READ THE STORY. (_growls_) I'd shoot her for that if I didn't love her so much. (it's only platonic, I promise...) Anywho, enjoyness to the chapter.**


	11. Tortured Souls

**Chapter 11- Tortured Souls**

"Orochimaru-sama? You summoned me?"

Kabuto watched blankly as his master turned to him from his scrolls. A displeased look had long since settled on his face, ever since receiving the information that Uchiha Sasuke had been returned to Konohagakure no Sato. Golden eyes narrowed.

"Devise a plan. I want him back, and those who took him from me to _pay_."

* * *

Deidara cast a glance at Sakura, currently sleeping soundly on Itachi's back. Even in her sleep she looked troubled. The blonde heaved a sigh.

"Itachi, do you think she'll be alright?"

The stoic Uchiha did not answer. They kept moving.

* * *

It had been two days since the discovery of Haruno Sakura's betrayal. All of Konohagakure was murmuring uncomfortably.

Yamanaka Ino was in a broken mess, as was the Uchiha.

The Hokage had practically gone sober over the seriousness of the situation.

Uzumaki Naruto, that ramen-scarfing, loveable boy, was barely out of the critical ward, and his old teammate was firmly glued to his side.

All the village superiors were uneasy; Sakura had been a very high official, and she was well aware of the inner workings of many of the shinobi countries. Star, Tea, Wave, Sand, it didn't matter; she had been a well-trusted delegate that knew many more secrets than one might've credited her for. Suna was already aware of the situation, since Temari had been present at the time of attack, but if more of them were to find out…

All of the shinobi world would likely crumble into chaos and fear…

At this moment, though, Hyuuga Hinata snuck towards the east ward where the object of her affections was being kept, and as she came to his room, she mentally steeled herself.

And then, she opened the door.

Beyond, the room was bright and clean, and the warm sunlight that filtered through the window was cheerful, belying the dangerous situation that the villagers of Konoha had so suddenly discovered themselves to be in. On a rickety metal folding chair next to the bed, a white kimono top bearing the colorful Uchiha crest was bared to her, and she smiled, noting the mess of raven hair splashed across the blankets. Pale eyes wandered upwards, though, and the smile faded from her features.

Bandages were plastered all across his body, hiding the way the acid had ravaged and burned his skin and tissue. A pained expression seemed permanently settled on his sleeping face, and softly, she removed the barely-damp cloth from his forehead, and wetted it in the basin on the side table, ringing it out and placing it back in its previous position. Whiskered face contorted for a moment, but then relaxed just a bit. His eyes were still squeezed shut; oh, at a time like this, she so wanted to see his eyes, his smile, and hear his laugh! Almost urgently, painfully, she bent over and pressed a desperate kiss to the corner of his eye.

She still couldn't begin to comprehend… even to _imagine_ what would go through his mind when he awoke. Thanks to Ino's pleading, Konoha would wait a little longer before completely condemning Haruno Sakura's actions, so still, she was not considered an enemy…

But what of Naruto? Would he understand? Likely as not, his reaction to the situation would be what the elders went by. Whether he accepted or rejected her… or needed more time.

The fox-child was much wiser than he used to be.

"Hinata?"

The young woman turned about quickly, snowy eyes suddenly delving into sleep-deprived obsidian. Sasuke blinked up at her guilelessly; it was an unguarded look, one that she was still surprised to see. It was well over a month since he was found at the Gates, and still his gentle demeanor surprised her. His glance wandered down to the face of his best friend, and suddenly he seemed so…

Lost…

Hollow eyes stared, lifeless, broken, at the ashen and bandaged face of his friend. Pain glimmered, and the occasional shot of confusion breached the surface, but still, he looked so much like a child… small and lonely, without knowing what to do. In that moment, the Byakugan heiress pitied him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, much to his and her own surprise, but she did not stop or withdraw. Raw pain would still be there when she did, and she wasn't in a hurry to see it again.

"Hinata…?"

"It'll be okay… eventually. I promise. Trust in him; Naruto-kun has never let us down before, and I doubt he'll start now."

* * *

"Ino, stop. This isn't helping anything."

Shikamaru pounded on his girlfriend's bathroom door. Two hours ago, she'd locked herself in there with a whole crate of sake, and she had yet to come out. Every once in a while, he would hear a sharp _clink_ on the tile floor, indicating that yet another bottle had been emptied. Sobs and hiccups and curses, rare at first, now flowed steadily from her mouth, only interrupted when she downed another shot of the rice-wine.

"Shika…" He sighed. Finally, she acknowledged his presence.

"Did you know that Sakura got me this sake for my birthday?"

He mentally deadpanned. That was _not_ what he wanted to hear.

"And she… -_sniffle-_… she helped me remodel this bathroom a few years ago, too…"

The man inwardly flinched. He did _not_ like the direction this appeared to be going. But suddenly, he heard the lock click, and he moved away from the door as it opened sluggishly. Try as he might, he couldn't keep from grimacing at the thoroughly inebriated mind-walker. Yet as the blonde reached out and gripped his shirt sleeve pitifully, he couldn't help but soften towards her again. He didn't understand, this time; he wasn't close to Haruno like the others were. Her head buried itself in the crook of his neck.

"She's the one who told me to… stop lying to myself… and admit that I love you." The Nara couldn't help but be a little surprised at that revelation. Ino wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Needfully. Her sobs were calming into silent tears, for which he was silently thankful.

"Oh, Shika… Please tell me it'll be okay…"

* * *

That evening, Hinata stayed at the hospital after insisting that Sasuke return home for rest and a proper meal, and she watched the dying sunlight play on the Hokage Faces with strange shadows. Over the face of the Godaime, an eagle could be seen circling, screaming a message in the dusk. Her magnolia-colored eyes narrowed at the sight, a line of worry creasing her brow.

She didn't like this at all.

A nurse tapped on the door and poked her head in softly, calling the girl's name. "Hinata-sama-?"

"Yuri-san, please send word to the Hokage; I need to see her right away."

* * *

Sakura stirred in Itachi's lap. She had been calling out… in her nightmares.

Sasuke leaving. Her capture. His retrieval and loss. Having to attack her best friend. The pain of her teachers, her comrades, and of her own tortured soul poured out in shouts, cries and desperate screams. She had earned dozens upon dozens of scratches from her own nails, until they were as long and deep so as to appear as a whip's lashes. Tears streamed from closed sage-colored eyes.

Itachi had long since drawn her against him, hoping that the wounds would be inflicted on himself rather than her; any more, and her death would've been certain. His skin bore her markings of hate and shame, and of self-loathing. Deidara tended her wounds tenderly, rubbing them as gently as he could manage, and swathing them in soft, white bandages. Itachi refused attention; his injuries were much lighter than hers, he would say, and turn away the help offered him.

An unintelligible murmur escaped the chapped lips of the kunoichi. It had taken hours of her painful nostalgia before she landed in this calm of the storm. Her fingers, once clawing at him and herself desperately, now hung limply in his ragged shirt, lax and trembling finely with exhaustion. Deidara stroked her hair as he pulled away.

"It's… horrible. It almost makes me lose control… how much pain she's in." The normally smiling blonde had resorted to a stoic mask; it was his only refuge against the emotions that had been surging out of the petite kunoichi for hours on end, beating at them relentlessly like wave on sand. They weren't immune.

Contrary to popular belief, they weren't unfeeling.

And with a kunoichi as passionate as Sakura now constantly at their sides, both their walls and buttresses were steadily deteriorating, and falling, decayed, at her bleeding, angelic feet. Sharingan eyes, impassive as always, now hid pain and uncertainty. Hid… fear.

She was walking on broken glass- stepping on the shards of her own shattered heart, which she had, until now, kept hidden. With her own, monstrous strength, she was shredding the last of her tattered, weary soul. And for what?

A contract. A covenant.

Oh, he wished this wasn't breaking him the way it was. She was doing this to herself… because of _him_. For _him._ For some stupid agreement she made… with _him_, a criminal of all people! A murderer! She was destroying herself from the inside out over a few words that had "promise" in the mix! And all for what?

Nothing.

Nothing but her own discomfiture and pain, her own agony. Why didn't she recant already?! It would save them all more pain than any could bear. Every scream, every scratch, every hateful glance…

Was tearing their tortured souls to pieces…

* * *

**AN: Wow... how long has it been? XDD HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ITACHI!! And my regrets, but I'll have to post **_Slipknot_** a day late. Eheh. But I promise it'll get up! It's gonna be cracked... Which is the fun part of it. XP Anywho, enjoy the update and review onegai!**


	12. Inner Destruction

**Chapter 12- Inner Destruction**

In the dark hour before the rising sun, Tsunade watched as the young Hyuuga heiress stared out of the hospital window at the Hokage Faces. No light filtered into the room, the moon long set, the sun unrisen, and the stars shaded by an ominous storm.

"The eagle wheels above the Great Mountain. It foretells disaster to my ears," she murmured softly. The blonde woman across the room leaned against the shadowed wall, deep-honey eyes piercing through the night-veil. In the darkness, hair and clothing rustled, white-opal eyes shining softly in the near pitch-black. "I fear what is coming greatly, and especially for your sake."

A soft moan from the direction of the bed was disregarded between the two. Diamond eyes judged the figure in darkness, monitoring the one whose own eyes were blinded by eventide.

It… was coming.

* * *

Kabuto slipped from the shadows into the light of a single lamp, his head bowed before his master, the glare on his glasses masking his eyes.

"All preparations are complete, Orochimaru-sama."

Vicious golden eyes shimmered in the half-light, and the tall Sannin stood, his long hakama falling about his ankles. Onyx hair glimmered violet as he stepped forward.

"We move at dusk."

* * *

If she had awakened and screamed at him, half killed him, or mutilated him in any way, he would've called it normal. Would've let it go without another thought.

But the mere fact that Haruno Sakura woke up splayed across the chest of Uchiha Itachi without giving any reaction at all had them a little concerned.

She had blinked up at him, and then silently removed herself, grabbing a few things and disappearing through the trees towards the river's dull roar. Nothingness. Not a word, not a sound. Not even the scuffle of her shoes through dirt and leaves. Impassive onyx eyes watched as she disappeared into the trees.

"It's not getting much better… is it?"

Deidara's inquiry from across the camp was not acknowledged. That, in itself, was as good as a 'no.' They weren't going to try and kid each other; they were worried, if only just a little.

She… wasn't singing.

Not a word… not a murmur, not a sound, unless she was screaming in her ever more terrifying nightmares. Where could they go from here? The light they'd seen in her had nearly disappeared; it flickered, waning, casting a cold glow upon their faces from the depths of despair that now flooded it.

Was there… nothing that could save them, after all?

* * *

In the middle of the river, she drifted, her head the only part above the water, as she remembered.

Sapphire eyes.

Eyes that were full of kindness, trust, happiness… _life_.

Had she killed them? Quenched them? Destroyed them? Were they gone forever, with no hope of return?

_If Shishou… no, if the Hokage was available immediately, they could've saved him… But even Tsunade-sama doesn't know anything about the Sharingan acid… she's good with poisons, but would this be too much to ask?_ Sakura reveled in the pressure of the water on her throat. Blood roared in her ears, the pressure building up in her head, begging for relief, release. But what… release was to be had?

Onyx eyes.

With their darkness skittering across her vision, shame forced itself upon her, a burden that once again cracked what of her soul had not already fallen to pieces.

She was a traitor. She knew that from the beginning, but had still made her choice. The choice to thrust Konoha- her comrades- before her into the light, and allow herself to fall into darkness.

But she was a traitor.

A damned _traitor_.

If snow is cold, was she colder, to have done this to them? She knew there was not one shinobi in Konohagakure worth his salt that would not throw away his life to save his friend, his comrade- as she had done. But what had she done? She had brought back a traitor and made him an ally again… but… now she was a traitor… so which was the worse evil?

Stars exploded before her eyes from the water pressure. The sky was painted hues of red and violet and green behind their phantoms. Sakura allowed her body to float up in the water, and she turned over.

And breathed.

* * *

**AN: Eheh... It's been a while. *is ashamed* I am SO SORRY for taking so long to update this! But really? ... It kinda got to a point where it was so depressing that I had to be in a MOOD to write it. ;-; It was totally unintentional, I promise! At any rate... Yay. I leave you at a cliffhanger, with Sakura committing suicide. I love me. XP**

**...**

**I'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRY! Okay, I won't take as long to get out the next chapter! Y'know why? Because it's ALREADY WRITTEN. And I kinda have an idea of how I want things to progress for a while. See, I had LOTS of ideas... but I couldn't piece them all together in a coherent manner, and that was also giving me trouble... but now I've got everything heading in the right direction, so things can start happening again! No, I haven't hit a Naruto phase... I just... decided that it'd been long enough. ^^; That, and I'm procrastinating studying for my SAT tomorrow. **

**Anywho! Please READ AND REVIEW!**

**Next Time: **_Chasing Shadows_


	13. Chasing Shadows

**Chapter 13- Chasing Shadows**

In the early greys and oranges of morning, Sasuke slipped into his trousers and boots, throwing a light yukata over his broad shoulders before slipping out beneath the sliver of sun that had peeked above the world's end. He wandered past the deserted buildings of the Uchiha district, voices from his past silent this morning beneath the echo of wind in trees and the new morning warbles of half-sleeping birds.

He'd looked all through his house. Why were the signs of three years of his life missing? Between a mission to Tea Country and now, there was no paperwork, no photos, no anything. As if between the ages of 13 and 16, he had ceased to exist.

The looks from the villagers were not unnoticed, either. Furtive glances and wary footsteps, and civilians, accustomed to the patronage of shinobi including himself, were stuttering, or losing all color to their faces the moment he came near. The desire for power that he seemed to remember having was so distant he wondered if it were only a dream. His eyes traced his family crest on the wall of a former uncle's house, and an uneasy feeling stirred in the pit of his stomach.

Three years… is a lot of time to be missing.

* * *

Her chakra had already been unstable. It had been flickering weakly, wavering like ripples on a shallow pond. But this time, it just went out.

Like a tiny flame on a completely used candle, it just… went out.

Itachi shot through the trees, Deidara hot on his heels, leaving their belongings and the campfire as they were, all else forgotten. The minute they broke the last stand, they could see her, floating on the surface of the small cove, the waves from the small cascading falls pushing her slowly towards the rocky shore. Not even a second's hesitation- they flew across the water and hauled her up, the sun shining through and lighting up her deceptively tanned skin. Her lips did not move, her pulse did not beat.

They took her to shore and stretched her upon the soft, wild grasses. Itachi's hands were already moving towards her face, and Deidara's towards her chest.

They just prayed… they weren't too late.

* * *

"_Tsunade-sama!_"

Shizune's scream ran through the entire Hokage Tower, her frightened voice carrying to every ear, and warning every heart of coming danger. Her office door slammed open, the _clack_ing of wooden shoes moving frantically across the tiled floor. With a piece of paper in one hand and a blood-soaked hawk in the other, she stopped before her superior's desk, panting in fear and exertion.

"It's Orochimaru. He's moving in for an attack!"

* * *

Within the hour, all of Konoha was moving. Academy children were taken with only a handful of teachers to the safe house, along with pregnant women and civilians. The uproar had not gone concealed from them, and their panic was causing trouble.

Everything was wrong.

Sasuke squeezed his best friend's hand one more time before tightening his headband and slipping out the hospital door. The light white kimono top he wore rustled gently as he wrapped his belt a little tighter.

Orochimaru was striking at his home again, and he didn't like it at all. It wasn't right. It wasn't _right_! Why should he attack Konoha again?! Jaws clenched subconsciously, eyes sharpening with deadly intent as he moved down the hall swiftly. Even if the Hokage's immediate orders were for him to have nothing to do with the battle whatsoever, there was no _way_ he was going to wait around like a useless civilian while his comrades were in trouble! So _what_ if the snake Sannin had killed his entire family nine years ago? Would he even remember laying waste to the Uchiha Clan as he had? His pacing stopped.

_But if he killed the rest of the clan… why didn't he kill me? He knows I'm alive… he knows I'm Uchiha. Why didn't he kill me years ago? _He grunted in discontentment, his frustration bubbling to the surface.

And then he ignored it.

The questions didn't matter. The _past_ didn't matter. He decided that until Tsunade and Naruto decided to tell him, he would remain in the dark, and it was _just fine_ that way. No wondering. If Sakura was with the Akatsuki, so be it. If Orochimaru had let him live, _so be it_. Reasons weren't needed… to protect something precious.

Nurses bustled in the halls, strengthening the walls with chakra and assuring each patient's safety. Patients that could be moved had already been evacuated, along with as many nurses as they could spare to treat any injury that occurred along the way.

If there was a meaning to this battle besides protecting the place he held most dear, he would have to hear it later.

* * *

In a dusty old inn's cheapest room, Itachi carefully wrapped Sakura in a blanket. She'd been revived… finally. Another fit of coughing wracked her body, and he placed a warm hand on her forehead. She was _still_ cold like death. Cold enough that, if he hadn't made himself keenly aware of her breathing, he'd think she _was_ dead.

They almost hadn't made it. And when she'd awoken that first and only time, she'd only said one thing.

"… _Why did you save me?"_

She really... loved Konoha that much. Enough that, just by something simple like this, she would almost totally break.

It wasn't enough. This _couldn't_ be enough... not for her.

She couldn't, _shouldn't_ break so easily like this.

Was it really... already time for something like this? So soon? It hadn't been but a month, and it was already down to this? He didn't notice, but Itachi clenched his jaw painfully. Deidara pulled himself out of Sakura's bag, clicking his tongue ruefully.

"Dammit, she doesn't have anything we can use. I'm gonna go to the pharmacy, yeah." He snatched his cloak from the back of the room's one and only ratty chair, and left through the window without a word, only sparing a single, quick glance to their patient. Itachi moved and closed the window behind him, drawing the threadbare curtains.

All he could do was stand there. Just stand… stand and watch.

All his techniques, all his power, every ounce of genius… right when it came down to this, he was useless. All destruction. There… really _wasn't_… anything he could _save_.

"Sakura-san." She seemed to hear him, but didn't move. He called her again, and her eyes flickered open. Dead. Not even cold, just simply _dead_, as if they'd been the plastic eyes of a child's baby doll. "Sakura-san, are you listening?"

She still didn't move, but she was, in some grotesque way, looking at him.

"Sakura-san, you _can not_ give up here. We still have to protect Konoha, don't we?"

"_I _am the only one protect _my_ home. You're the one trying to _destroy_ it, remember?" Her voice was as dead as her eyes.

"Are you so convinced that dying is in the best interests of Konoha?"

"Helping you obviously isn't, so what else do you propose I do?"

"Don't give up." A dry laugh. Something that made her truly remind him of an eerily realistic doll… her sculpted, dead eyes, high cheekbones completely pale save for the very apples. The coquettish smile, laughing. A frightening, cursed doll.

"I am bound body and blood to the one who is hell-bent on destroying exactly what I want to protect. You think I have something to live for?"

If she was surprised at his sudden movement, it didn't show on her porcelain face. In a split second, he was hovering above her on the bed, his black eyes with a roiling red beneath the surface. The Sharingan, which would even appear at just a small show of temper, was barely retrained beneath his rage.

"_I am not your enemy. I have never once truly desired to destroy that place. Don't give up when I still have to fight every day myself._"

* * *

The surge had stopped. In fact, since they had positioned themselves outside the wall, Sound Village hadn't moved. The army was concealed quietly in the forest. As if their mere presence was enough to win.

And in a way, it was working.

The young ones were restless. Some worried even more because of the ceased movement. Some were breaking down completely in fear. Adults were taking the time to say rather veiled, melancholy good-byes. A few had told their sweethearts that, when Konoha won and everything was said in done, they would get married.

Goodbyes.

Promises that might never come true.

Shikamaru stared at the graying sky, and Ino came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He could feel her delicate nose against the shoulder of his vest. This was their goodbye. This was also their promise. He was sure they were both remembering Azuma and Kurenai by now. Their unspoken promise. Their deep love.

Unfulfilled.

"Shikamaru, I wish Sakura were here."

"… So do I."

* * *

Her eyes had burned to life.

If he hadn't been so angry, he would've been relieved. Her lips seemed as if they were spitting fire when she delivered her scathing answer.

"What the hell have you been fighting? Those weaker than you! You haven't protected anything, you bastard. If your aim wasn't to destroy Konoha, I'd sure as hell like to know what it is!"

"To protect Konoha. That has _always_ been my goal."

"_Liar._"

"How can I convince you otherwise?"

"You can't. You're a lying, murderous bastard that I was a fool to ever help or trust. Just kill me and put us all out of our misery."

"I refuse."

"Oh? So did you have a sob story to keep me entertained?"

"If by sob story, you mean the rebellion the Uchiha clan was planning, yes. It's quite epic."

Sakura's face froze. Her green eyes were focused on him as if he were an enemy, and yet her facial expression told him… something else. He wasn't sure. As though she were a curious predator that had met a prey much bigger than herself. Something she was fascinated by, but didn't know what to do with. Itachi leaned over and whispered quickly in her ear.

"_I can clear away all your doubts, if you'll listen_."

He could feel her answering. The start of her word sounded like a definite 'yes.'

In a moment, whatever she was going to say was lost in an explosion, and the sudden surrounding of flames.

* * *

**AN: Okay, believe it or not, _this_ was the chapter that I was just absolutely _stuck on_ foreeeeeeever. Because there were so many portions of the story to keep up with, I had a suicidal Sakura to deal with, and lots of other stuff... Yeah. I absolutely backed myself into a corner and I couldn't find the way out. But once I did, it was like... *SHOCK* "OMG, SOUL-MIRROR ONLY HAS TWO CHAPTERS AFTER THIS?!"**

**...**

**And yeah, Soul-Mirror really _does_ only have two chapters left. Once I figured out what I was doing, things absolutely fell into place. The next chapter is already done, and I'm probably going to work on the last one today. ^^; ANYWHO, R&R~!**


	14. The Fire Singer

_**Note:**__ As hinted at in the last chapter, this chapter has Itachi-spoilers. If you don't want to be spoiled about Itachi, well… catch up on your reading, I suppose. ^^; And another thing; the last half of the last chapter was… yeah, like the hiatus, probably written a year or so after the first half, so if there's a noticeable difference in writing style, that would be why. Sorry. T_T;_

**Chapter 14- The Fire Singer**

Fire. It was spreading so quickly… just… eating away at the wooden ryokan, with nothing to stand in its path.

In the time it took her to register that, Itachi had already snatched up their things and wrapped her in a blanket, and started towards the window. He was about to go through just as Deidara had… but…

"…They're guarding it." He looked like he wanted to curse whoever it was making their escape so inconvenient, but was refraining. He was already turning around and making his way back into the hotel's main hallway, avoiding where the fire was already eating holes in the floor as best he could.

"I'll tell you right now, the massacre of my family was a bloody event. I wouldn't have done it for anything other than to save Konoha. My loyalty to the Hokage was greater than that to my clan. Don't think you know everything about it."

"You're going to continue that story _now_?!"

"When would you prefer me to continue it, Sakura-san?"

"How about over a nice cup of tea when our lives _aren't_ in mortal danger?"

"If it suits you to stay alive that long." He was now running along the wall of the staircase, which had already fallen through. The flames were singeing the blanket that he'd wrapped her in, and her feet found it extremely uncomfortable. But once they were in the lobby, all thoughts of discomfort changed to nothing short of fear.

The flames were already eating through the second floor. What was left of it was still crashing to the ground in charred chunks of red and ebony. Inky smoke made the midday sunlight seem nonexistent- a black hell. The screams of those trapped by the flames was a bloody chorus that served as the background music to what, apparently, was supposed to be their demise. Itachi wasn't aware of it, but his fingers were beginning to leave bruises on the limbs of his 'partner.'

And then, before he knew it, she was climbing out of his arms silently.

"Sakura-san!"

"It's okay. Oaks are nice. They're very strong and fatherly."

He could remember. She'd called herself the "one who hears the Summons of Fire," and said that each wood had its own personality. If she used _that_ technique, they would be able to get out, right?

"Sakura-san, stop. Are you going to use something like that so soon after nearly dying?" He couldn't imagine that her chakra supplies would be large enough so soon; it'd been barely half a day. The woolen blanket wrapped around her shoulders was dropped to the floor, leaving her body exposed to the open flame. "Sakura-san!"

_Don't fear for life;_

_What comes after is sweet._

_Don't fear for love;_

_The bitterness will turn to wonder._

_Open eyes,_

_Sweet child;_

_Remember where your purpose lies._

_Look ahead towards the dawning light…_

Like a tide, the smoke seemed to settle on the fire of its own will; like tucking in a small child, slowly, the flames seemed to fall into a gentle sleep. Sakura turned and looked at him, her green eyes cloudy not with smoke, but something he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Come on. I think we've got something to take care of."

* * *

There wasn't a warning. It simply _happened_.

A volley of kunai rained over the wall, and it was followed by a ream of the Sannin's poisonous snakes. In the span of five minutes, it was full-out combat, with no dividing line; nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

Simply nothing to do… but fight.

Explosions and summons animals would rock the ground with their might; the buildings were turning into nothing but piles of rubble and dust by the dozens, and the ones that remained standing would find themselves corroded by dojutsu, or burned by hijutsu.

Behind him, Hinata was hurriedly trying to heal an injured Chuunin. Sasuke locked weapons with a strange, silver-haired man while he protected her, and as though it were natural, he channeled his teacher's Raikiri through his sword.

A technique he… surely… couldn't have learned, right?

But the man retreated; pulled back to a distance of only a few meters, but he did not attack recklessly. A sadistic sort of grin pulled at his thin lips, as he pushed a pair of spectacles up his nose.

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun. You should come back quietly with us. You were kidnapped and brought back here against your will, weren't you?" The insidious tone he was using sent a creeping chill up the Uchiha's arms. "Don't you still want revenge on your brother?"

He wanted to ask him why he would work for the one who killed his family; why would he seek revenge on his brother, who was seeking it for their family? But 'why' didn't matter. _Couldn't_ matter, because at this point, all he could do was be sure there was a reason for everything.

He would not respond to the man who was acting like he knew him.

A fireball. A volley of senbon. Once or twice, a few allies from either side attempted to interfere, either to be killed by accident or summarily protected from what would have been a fatal blow. He held his own against a calculating opponent with techniques he couldn't ever remember learning. His speed gave him the advantage, but the enemy seemed to know his every move. His sword arm was useless; what he'd thought was only a glancing blow of the man's hand had injured him more than he had thought possible.

And then they withdrew.

It was just as suddenly as they attacked, and there didn't seem to be any sort of signal at all. The silvery-haired man seemed to glance back at the walls with a rather mutinous glare, as though his fun had been ruined; but without a biting remark of any sort, he simply left.

Sasuke was quite happy when he managed to plant one last kunai in the bastard's leg before he had to watch him get away.

"Sasuke-kun, let me treat you now." Hinata's gentle voice was suddenly very loud in the seeming dead silence. Her hands were already glowing a pale, beautiful green as she worked on his right arm, now devoid of its sleeve. For the first time in he wasn't sure how long, Sasuke looked at his surroundings.

Dead. Dying. Destruction. Shinobi were accustomed enough to pain that the only noise they made was to call a medic or let someone know that no, they weren't dead yet. The sounds that permeated the heated air were the crackling of burning buildings, the shouts of the medics and nurses, and the sounds of rubble being moved to unbury bodies, dead or alive. Genin that had remained to fight were already gathering all the weaponry they could find, dispersing to help with first aid, or reset traps that would warn them of a second wave. There wasn't a wind, a bird, a single noise that didn't have its source or focus as the wreckage around them. He wanted to grit his teeth as his nerves knit slowly back together.

This was his _home_.

Orochimaru was trying to destroy it… not for the first time, but the _second_.

"Sasuke-kun, is there anything else I need to do?"

"No. Please help as many as you can. I'll see what I can do about organizing some of the scattered." She nodded mutely, slipping away quickly to attend to more of the injured.

"You two!" Two young boys, about thirteen or so, snapped to a quick attention when Sasuke called them, stopping their rather cautious search through a collapsed building. "Go to Hinata and tell her that you'll assist in pulling people out of the wreckage. She can use the Byakugan to scan the buildings for survivors."

"Understood!"

Only the creaking and cracking of wood beneath their feet followed their quick response as they scrambled to follow orders. Sasuke's eyes followed them until they caught up with the young heiress, before he turned away to search the streets for his own way to prepare for the inevitable.

* * *

Deidara surveyed the building from a little ways off. The fire had apparently died down much sooner than their attackers had planned, and the result was much confusion.

Especially since their prey had, apparently, long since escaped.

The Oto nin were dressed in almost normal clothes, their headbands being the only reason he knew who they were. It was definitely Sakura and Itachi that they'd been aiming for; if it had specifically been the Akatsuki, they wouldn't have let _him_ escape unscathed as he had. In the velvety purple twilight, the once slightly dilapidated ryokan smoldered in almost-ruin, and he sighed; a wry smile was slowly creeping across his face.

Leader would never know the difference.

_Good luck you two. Don't get mixed up in this side of the world again.

* * *

_

Their sandals barely made any sound on the river.

The stars were sneaking into the sky bit by bit. In front of him, Sakura ran as if she were a bird; lightly, as if she had wings. He had insisted that she stop and dress herself before they continued earlier, and as a chill stained the night air, he was glad he _had_ insisted. Dressed in black, she was beginning to fade in with the night; her rose-colors hair glittered almost silver in the moonlight, and her skin washed out to nothing short of white.

She didn't know what he was thinking. Now, she wasn't even asking.

As if… as if, with that one look at the inn… she really _had_ forgiven him.

In his palm, he could feel the warm metal of his ring. The ring that he had taken off; the ring he, somehow, couldn't drop just yet.

"… Sakura-san…"

She glanced back at him over her shoulder, eyes a little clouded with fever, but still shimmering somewhere between white, green, and a deep, deep black. She didn't really answer, just continued to watch him from over her shoulder. Unconsciously, his footsteps slowed; and eventually, he simply came to a standstill. A few meters ahead, Sakura's feet also paused on the water's surface, turning to look at him fully.

"Sakura-san… do you forgive me?" It was all he could think of to ask. His voice sounded as if he were merely curious. He was sure that was how he sounded. That wasn't what he felt, though he wasn't sure how, or if, he could convey it. "Like you, I became Akatsuki for my own reasons. But I have survived this long because I committed many atrocities. Do you really forgive me for such things?"

The imprint on his ring was beginning to bite into his hand. There were a _lot_ of things that he wanted to say, but neither of those last lines hand been on that list. Far from it. Suddenly, he felt quite ashamed to look at her like he was, and his eyes dropped to stare blankly at the rippling water surface beneath his shadow. For the first time in nine years, he could feel the merciless façade slipping, and he wasn't worried about it, but the possible answers he might receive from the young woman in front of him.

And without warning, she was in front of him, prying open his hand that had, in the last few minutes, gripped to the point where his nails had scraped his palms roughly enough to draw blood. She was already pulling the ring from his grasp, and when she held it up, his eyes followed her hand. Met green. Wanted to look away, but really… really, he couldn't.

"This ring is proof of your sins. Wanna see what I think of that?"

With less ceremony than a dog scratching fleas, she whirled around and chucked it far enough that he couldn't even hear when it hit the river. With a satisfied huff, she turned around and looked at him again.

"_That_ is how much I give a damn about your past right now. Mmkay? We have things to do; so are you going to help me save our home, or aren't you?"

* * *

**AN: Okay, bite your lips, people; the next chapter's the last! XDD I pulled a 2-AMer just for you people, and FINALLY finished Soul-Mirror! Yes, please keep in mind that, in the original document, the hyphen _is_ there. At any rate! This story is coming to a close~! Finally finally FINALLY~. So to all of you who have enjoyed Soul-Mirror, I sincerely THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for reading, and pray that you will return and read more of my stories. Your reviews have all been wonderful. Some of them I've even printed and shown to my mother because they were so amazing and moving that I just couldn't NOT show someone else.**

**I look forward to writing for you in the future also!**


	15. Omamori

**Chapter 15- Omamori**

Like walking into a planetarium, a clear, frigid night settled above them. From where he stood at the edge of their makeshift triage, Sasuke stared at the warzone that surrounded them.

The rubble was piled high. Whole sections of the city were leveled, or rose in mountains of craggy, ominous debris. The streets still had a few people moving quietly in their shadows, mostly the younger ones and a few of the Hyuuga clan, making sure no survivors were missed.

The dead… would have to be dealt with later.

"Sasuke-kun?" Ino appeared beside him, her normally high voice low and sullen. She probably didn't realize, but there were bloodstains on her face. "Shikamaru is handing out provisions now; you should at least get a soldier pill while you've got a minute."

"I'll be there in a few. What's the situation look like with the casualties?"

"Not the greatest. We lost at least a division's worth; we're still finding the occasional survivor in the wreckage, but they're getting further between, and since their injuries were untreated for long periods, they've festered. They won't be able to fight."

He wasn't sure exactly what she was thinking, but with the dark look on her face, all he could think about was Sakura. He didn't want to think about her. Not at all.

She'd nearly _killed_ Naruto. Even though he knew he _shouldn't_ forgive her already, he knew that he wasn't angry. He didn't blame her in the least, even though he'd stood there and _watched_ it happen. Just a little… though he wasn't sure why… he knew that if she were here in this moment, things wouldn't have felt so bad.

Things wouldn't feel quite as _wrong_ as they did.

"If Sakura were here…"

They both seemed to start out of a reverie when she said that, and when she looked at him for a split second, she seemed to think she'd said something out of line. "A- Anyway! You need to come get something, and after that, Tsunade-sama wants to speak with you."

He was about to ask her was she wanted, but the blonde took off back to the camp, jogging quickly through the mud, regardless to it splashing up on her exposed toes and legs. Avoiding the subject of Sakura…

But… just a little… he understood. They'd been friends, even though they always fought. It wasn't news.

Instead of looking up at the Hokage Mountain like he suddenly wanted to, the Uchiha made his way through the rows of tents, and the few outdoor cots that were being used as extra room. Near the center, the half-ruined Hokage Tower served as a command point, and in front to the side, the shinobi that were still in decent shape grabbed a soldier pill in place of dinner and then helped the medics distribute food to the injured. Shikamaru saw him coming, and tossed him a small satchel of the makeshift provisions, thumbing him inside before returning to his work.

"Send teams to enforce the wall at points three and six; I want at least one ANBU team patrolling there at all times. Send two teams of genin to the safe house with supplies, and see if there is anyone who can be spared of the medics that left from the hospital. No reports of the dead are to be passed on anywhere; numbers can not be confirmed at this time, and only a few faces." Tawny orbs pierced him the moment he entered the war-weary room, and she looked akin to a lioness with the way the small oil lamp lit up her skin to the same golden color of her hair and eyes. "Dismissed."

Within seconds, they were alone. She seemed so much more intimidating at that moment that he almost, _almost_ backed away. As if his life were in danger, really.

"Sasuke, I need you to listen good and carefully. _Do not _interrupt or ask questions until I'm done, understood?"

He nodded. That hard glint in her eye seemed to sharpen.

"Hinata told me that you fought with a silver-haired man. Did he mention his name?"

"No ma'am."

"Did he say anything that seemed strange or illogical?"

"That I should 'return' of my own will, as I had been 'brought back against my will,' ma'am." His heart seized when she glared at him; a glare that was not for him, but probably the silvery person that had been baiting him.

"Has anything seemed out of place since your return?"

"… Yes. I can't remember much between the start of the second part of the Chuunin exam and when I woke up in the hospital a few days ago. Indicators in my home would say I've missed a minimum of three years." His words seemed to lessen her fury, but the unease and tension in the air didn't dissipate any. There was an uneasy rigidity around the Hokage's figure that seemed overbearing, as if it were crushing her; despite her young appearance, there was suddenly an old frailty there that couldn't fully be accounted for. "… Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

"… Granted." There was a sigh with those words, and he imagined that, whatever happiness had been in her, was now completely gone and blown away by the power of it. He found himself hesitating.

But… This was probably something she _needed_ to hear.

"Tsunade-sama, whatever has happened to me, you're not worried about the time I'm missing, only the actions I might take because of it. I have no desire to regain my memories. If, as you said a few days ago, Sakura is the one who wanted me to forget… then I believe in her. If forgetting is for the best, I will let these memories remain forgotten." The way she was beginning to study him, as if she hoped he were telling the truth and yet dared not hope at all, was something he'd never seen before. "The reasons don't matter. I am here. I _am_ a Konohagakure shinobi. Konoha is my home, and therefore I _will_ protect it. The reasons, whatever they might be, have no bearing on these facts."

* * *

"Where… is this? What time is it?"

"Naruto-san, you're awake!"

The blonde glanced around the cavern, noting through blurry eyes that they were in the safe house in the Hokage Mountain. The quiet movements and hushed voices around him were a dull roar, in a way; like the soft sound of waves. Above him, an unfamiliar nurse smiled a little in relief as he began to focus on her.

"You've been out since the attack. It's been five days."

"Where's… Tsunade-baachan?"

"Tsunade-sama is busy. We've been attacked by Otogakure."

His eyes shot open, and he struggled into a sitting position; an action which his caretaker quietly protested. She easily forced the man back onto his cot, which frustrated the kitsune even more. Weakness was _not_ something he liked, especially in himself.

"You mustn't move, Naruto-san! You're still very badly injured. Tsunade-sama wasn't able to identify the poison Haruno-san threw on you, so she wasn't able to combat it very well." The young woman spread the blanket back up over his shoulders, her brown eyes watching him intensely. "Sasuke-san is with them, and from what we've heard, the troops that attacked us this morning have withdrawn beyond the wall to reform. According to reports, we probably only have until dawn to prepare ourselves."

"What about casualties?" She shook her head.

"They were not allowed to confirm any casualty reports, on Tsunade-sama's orders."

The blonde was settling back again; his eyes wandered off to some point that neither knew where; his mind blank with a numbing, aching feeling that could only be foreboding.

He wished…

"_I wish… Sakura were here…_"

* * *

With the dawn came fire.

Whether it had been the plan from the start, or if it had been a last resort they didn't know, and didn't really have time to care.

The buildings that had previously been reduced to rubble were now blazing bonfires, and as they spread there was little anyone could do. Fire-laden arrows crackled through the air, fire jutsu burned to life. Burning, like hell itself. The oxygen was decreasing rapidly; even the enemy was having trouble fighting through the smoke, but it seemed like that didn't matter. As long as Konoha was destroyed.

As long as it fell to the ground in a glorious heap of ash, that was fine.

The silver-haired man was back. Again, Sasuke stood with him on even terms, and as they fought, he continuously berated him to 'return,' to 'come back,' and asked him if he wasn't 'still seeking revenge.' The Uchiha refused to answer. There was no point. If he sought to answer the man that now locked him in a singular battle, there would probably be no avoiding the surfacing of memories.

Or perhaps this man knew something _about_ those memories.

The more he thought about remembering, the less he wanted to remember. The more he thought about forgetting, the more he wanted to kill the man in front of him. Their kunai gritted and screeched against each other, a horrible, grueling noise. The sounds of their feet and battle cries were lost in the roar of the blazes that surrounded them. Screams like banshees rose from all directions; like a slaughterhouse. Like a concentration camp.

Like Hell itself.

He was thrown back, and let out his own cry of misery when a burning beam braced him, burning away the shirt from his back, and the skin from his muscles. He could feel the charred flesh curling and falling away, even as he pulled himself from the flames, and his opponent laughed in a maniacal manner that was absolutely chilling. Theirs was an arena of fire; there wasn't even an escape route left.

Whether he won or not, they would both die.

"Tell me your name." The man seemed to pause, an air of surprise around him. As though he were a child that had been asked an unexpected question.

"You're telling me that you _don't remember_? How odd… Well, it's certainly not _my_ doing this time, but I _would_ like to know how it happened." Sasuke was gritting his teeth; not only from the pain, but also from frustration with this sudden innocent act.

"_Tell me your name_." The sadistic glint was back in his eyes.

"Why~? Because you're trying to remember? Do I seem familiar?"

"I don't want to remember. But I'd at least like to know the name of the man I'm about to die with."

"Die with? First I'm hearing of it." The innocent façade was back. The Uchiha didn't give a damn about him, but if there was a reason he wasn't worried at a time like this, he'd sure as hell like to know why. A finger shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and then he was walking forward. A professional walk, like a doctor. It was totally wasted on him. "Now, lets see to getting you back to Orochimaru-sama. I can't exactly let you die here; I'd never hear the end of it. After Kimimaro, I was nearly given a verbatim threat, you see. So I can't let another container slip through my fingers."

That hand was reaching toward him.

He didn't want to be touched by him.

Even if his mind couldn't remember, his body could. He wanted to run.

He didn't realize he'd closed his eyes. But suddenly the evil intent that'd hung over him was gone. A rush of heat stung his face. When he looked up, all he could see was a shocked human candle, almost silently dying in a cocoon of flames. The silver-haired man was charring into a wretched, twisted corpse before his very eyes, and when he collapsed…

_She_ was there behind him.

* * *

I remember how he was when I found him there that day. Sasuke-kun was completely surrounded by flames, and Kabuto was about to knock him out. Itachi had split from me the moment he found Orochimaru, but Kabuto didn't know that his master was probably already dead.

Was, in fact.

When I burned him, Sasuke looked up at me with an expression that was… so child-like, I almost fell in love with him again. Just a little. Because he was cute.

And when I reached out for him, he didn't really hesitate to take my hand. For that, I was glad, because it was like I'd already been forgiven. I settled the fires over Konoha, and left one last letter in his hand.

My good-bye forever.

I've never seen them again. For the last six years, Itachi and I have lived in the Land of Waves. He cut his hair, regrettably, and mine has grown longer. The day we left Konoha, he proposed to me, and I accepted, though we never really had a ceremony. Our house is small, but it is more than large enough for our simple lifestyle; he is a strong man, that can do anything, and he is gentle. The people love him. We work in whatever way will provide for us, and really, we don't lack anything.

We are happy.

I can look out the window and see the ocean, which is still an oddity. The salt air is still colder than I'm used to being. I can only look to the sky and remember who I am, and where I come from. If I look to the blue, blue sky, I imagine I can see Naruto's eyes.

Eyes that, last time, were twisted by my own hand.

I'm not sure if he's forgiven me, but I'll probably never know. We've been blacklisted as ninja, I'm sure, and if it weren't for the life we're living, we would've long-since been found.

"Sakura?"

I turn, and he's there behind me. Many think he is blind, because his eyes are such a pale, pale white, but I've just cured him. Like winding back a clock, I have undone the process that turned the Byakugan into the Sharingan, and now his eyes are as pale as moonlight. He is smiling at me gently; like his brother, when he's like this he seems like a child. Innocent and naïve.

The last things he could ever, ever be called.

"Is something wrong?" He shakes his head.

"You seemed upset." He leans in to kiss me, and I see my reflection in his eyes. Somehow, I look like a woman, and not so much like a child. His lips are soft on mine, and very gentle. He is an affectionate person by nature, I now know.

Those eyes that captured me from the start, the window to his soul that is, in its turn, a mirror of my own. We'll continue like this forever… somehow… that's what I hope.

* * *

**AN: Well, there you go, peeps. That's the end. Who would've thought that I would spend a whole year ANGUISHING over this story, only to discover that I was so close to finishing it? *SIGH* Oh well. I hope you've enjoyed it. I will probably be posting another, actually NEW, ItaSaku story within the next week or two. It's my "album challenge," **_Carnival Ride_**. Go to the **_Map Writers_** profile here on FF for the summary~ See you then!**

_DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW. FIRST ONE TO REVIEW GETS A COOKIE. THE FIRST FIVE TO REVIEW WILL RECEIVE THE DEDICATION OF MY NEW STORY WHEN IT'S POSTED~ ^^_


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